I’m a Good Excuse to Be a Bad Influence on You
by TheFayx
Summary: I’m a Good Excuse to Be a Bad Influence on You: A Yunho/Jaejoong Love Triangle FanFic : A fan fiction about a love triangle between an OC, Yunho and Jaejoong and based on the Korean boy band TVXQ.
1. Chapter 1: Getting to Practice

I'm A Good Excuse to Be a Bad Influence on You: {(A Yunho/Jaejoong Love Triangle FanFic)}

[[After working hard to get into the SM Entertainment Goliath-of-an-entertainment industry, Lilly Monique finally managed to break through and become a successful dancer. What band is she assigned to dance for? Tohoshinki. After barely a year of training for this very moment, can Lilly finally grasp her dream? What if getting her dream also traps her into a love triangle? Find out in this week's chapter of  
"I'm A Good Excuse to Be a Bad Influence on You." Title inspired from the lyrics of Pink's "Bad Influence."]]

Deep, ragged breaths echoed off the sky blue walls. The room was dark; lonesome. A frail figure lay struggling to and fro under a bundle of sheets on the canopy bed in the middle of the room. She was slightly curvy and had an ever-so-faint tan, a rare site in Seoul, S. Korea for women. Her mahogany hair was matted atop of her sweaty forehead; her hands wrestling with the corner of the sheets. A sharp scream erupted from her throat and she shot up, green hues adjusting to the room. Her breathing spiked in speed for a moment, but slowly smoothed itself out. She collapsed back on to the bed and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. **"I can't keep doing this to myself. There's nothing to fret over."** She rolled over onto her side, but didn't go to sleep. She stared blankly at the wall a few feet off.

Four hours later, an alarm clock blares and the girl startles awake again. She moans and slings the alarm clock against the wall. She never really was a morning person. Her blood pressure and sugar didn't like her too well if she woke up early. Fighting the urge to sleep, the girl pushed off her sheets and dropped her feet to the white carpeted floor. Her endowment could be seen more apparently because of her white tank top, which had a thicker black wife beater underneath, and fitted black Capri sweats, which all equally flattered her figure. She stood up and stretched; a few places popping in disagreement. After heading towards the kitchen, she pushed the 'play' button on her answering machine.

"**Lills! I heard you're dancing with TVXQ! THAT'S AMAZING! You have to send me pictures!" ** The message pauses and a shuffling noise is heard. **"I have pictures of my new boyfriend. You'll have to meet him! Oh, and I hope you haven't forgotten to speak English, what with you studying Korean every day. If you have, just call and I'll re-teach you! Well, if you can even understand-."** The message ended, and another one began playing**. "Sorry, Lilly. Guess I talk too much. Well, I'll let you go so you can become famous and such. Don't forget us little people!" ** Lilly laughed and waited for the next message to play. This time a much more masculine voice graced the phone, and this time spoke in Korean.

"**Lilly Monique? I hope this is your answering machine. This is Jung Yunho from TVXQ."** Lilly made an audible squeak, either from excitement or grief**. "We will be having dance practice at eight o'clock sharp, so please be there on time. I'm sorry we couldn't meet in a more cordial manner, but you must be looking forward to this from how great I've heard you to be. I can't wait-."** Again, the machine cut off the message. Lilly waited impatiently for the message to continue. **"Sorry, Lilly. You need to fix your machine. Anyways, try to be on time please. Since it's 6:04 right now, I hope you'll wake up soon so you can be up and alert for today. I'll see you soon. It'll be interesting to see an American who can actually dance." ** His chuckle was slightly audible as the message ended. Lilly rolled her eyes at the tease. If they were going to start out pestering her about her nationality, this was definitely going to be a hard week.

That being the last message, Lilly glanced over at the clock. The funky gear clock (.) posted up next to her fridge read 7:20 a.m. Good, that leaves enough time to eat a quick meal and sprint to practice. After running into the bathroom to do her make-up, pull her hair into a high-but-loose ponytail, straightening her side bangs and any strays, munching down a bowl of cereal, and putting on a pair of black and white striped knee-high socks and black high-tops and a hot pink knitted hat, Lilly headed out of her recently-purchased apartment. She made her way down the two flights of stairs and outside to the streets of Seoul. The air was different in Seoul then the musky New York smog she was used to breathing; somewhat heavier, but oddly cleaner. Around her, people rushed by to work and such, some noticing the American and others not caring. Plugging in a bright pair of hot pink ear buds and turning up her iTouch to keep out the hustling and bustling of the city folk from her head, Lilly began her jog to practice. For some reason, they chose to do it in a quaint, little dance studio about two miles away; reason one Lilly brought a hot pink drawstring backpack filled with nourishments.

After dodging several hundred civilians, Lilly managed to find the studio. Since she 'accidentally' barged into two other studios, she only had two and a half minutes to make it whatever security they had and into the room. Once she opened the front door, Lilly was met by a tall, broad-shouldered man of about 42-years of age.

"**Can I help you, Miss?" **he asked quizzically, giving her a 'What the eff do you think you're doing?' look.

"**Just reporting to practice**," she murmured, keeping her eyes focused behind and beyond the man and down the hallway that he protected.

"**ID then, please."**

"**Um…do you have a checklist or something? I was supposed to get that today, but…"** Aggh, of all the days to forget how to say 'I forgot' in Korean… **"My name is Lilly Monique. I was suppos-"**

"**Ahh, Lilly-ssi! Welcome, welcome!"** a high-pitched shrieking greeted. Lilly stretched behind the guard to see a boy with a brownish-red hair color. He was also wearing a white tank top, but had on mustard yellow sweats instead and donned a pair of white sneakers. If she wasn't mistaken, this was Xiah Junsu from the pictures (and pure online stalking she conducted) she was shown a few months ago. He had the same facial structure as the lad she had seen earlier, but his hair color had been a bit browner.

"**Junsu-ssi?"** She blinked hard, struggling with focusing from all the running and angling her body around the guard. The man moved out of her way, and she advanced to Junsu. Both shook hands and grinned.

"**It's great to finally meet you! You're so pretty!"** he cheered, grabbing her into a quick one-armed hug. He was being very informal for a Korean, but Lilly liked it this way. For some reason, Junsu felt like a close friend…

"**You-You too. And thank you,"** she said while dipping her head a little to bow. **"I'm kind of nervous about today. I'm not for sure about how well I'll do today. I haven't learned the routine."**

"**Ah, don't worry about it. None of us have even seen the routine. You'll do just fine!" **he grinned and gave her a light, friendly pat twice on the cheek. **"Now, come one. We've got a practice to…practice!"**

Lilly laughed and followed Junsu down the hallway. The walls were bold and brightly colored, which appealed greatly to Lilly. As the neared the last room on the right, Lilly could hear TVXQ's newest hit, "Hey! Don't Bring Me Down!" riveting from a speaker deeper into the room. After entering the room, it was clear that they actually hadn't been dancing, but simply hanging around like they were waiting for  
something.

"**WOOO! She's here!" **everyone yelled in unison. There were males all over the place; not a single female in site. Apparently, they were happy to feel the slightest bit of estrogen mist the air. That and they probably weren't used to Americans waltzing in every day.

"**Heyyy. It's nice to finally meet you,"** a deep, husky voice offered. It came from a boy in a black t-shirt, white zip-up jacket, white sweats and black sneakers. He had his hood over his black hair, but only the side sweeping bangs were visible.

"**Yoochun! I already said that! Quit copying me!"** Junsu whined.

"**Stop nagging!"** Yoochun groaned. Junsu playfully pushed Yoochun's shoulder, and Yoochun punched lightly back at him. The two went off to another part of the room to bicker, leaving you with three other guys. You didn't really notice this though; you were too busy laughing at Junsu and Yoochun.

A voice broke into your 'concentration'. **"I've already kind of spoken to you before, I think,"** spoke a familiar voice. Lilly whipped her head around to see none other than who he claimed to be; U-know Yunho. His picture, along with the others, really did do them justice besides the change in hair. The last picture she had seen of Yunho was when he had shoulder-length hair. Actually, the only updated pictures she had was of Junsu; he liked to keep her updated with his new and fashionable "charismatic \looks". His hair had been cut a lot shorter since the picture was taken, but it looked really good on him. She blushed slightly at this though, but continued to quickly look him over. He wore a black wife beater and dark brown cargo shorts. He wore black high-tops, a style preferred especially by Lilly. His arms were really muscular and toned, along with all the other boys who wore tanks or wife beaters. Lilly was going to really enjoy today after all. Besides looks (and after hearing his voice a bit longer than the others), Lilly could tell he had an assuredness about him, or a dominance to the others. He was subconsciously extending this sort of aura towards her, but she didn't falter to it. She liked to be in charge of at least herself, if nothing else. Besides his extreme testosterone levels, a kindness reflected behind his eyes. Almost like a sympathetic understanding, but not really. It was hard to tag down…

After finishing looking him over, Lilly looked up in time to see Yunho look her over and blush deeply when he met her eyes. The blush was slightly hard to see due to his tan face, but it was cute in a way. **"Well,"** Yunho paused for a moment, trying to gather himself enough to save face, but the next guy beat him to speaking.

"**I'm Youngwoong Jaejoong, but you probably already knew that because of amazingly good looks."** The dark-haired male grinned. Yes, she did remember the feminine-looking one. Actually, they were all the characteristic 'pretty boys', but this one made the cake AND ate it. His complexion was soft and inviting, but his eyes read quite the likewise. He seemed…distant, like he wasn't truly there, but again his voice also read quite the likewise. He seemed too complicated to decipher right now. Besides his good looks, he had a nice body too. You could see his chiseled torso through the back tank top he wore as well as his buff biceps. He wore black cargos as well, and topped it all off with white high-tops. He, too, didn't look anything like his picture. His has blonde hair in the picture, but had black now. Also, the cut was different. He had more of an angle in his bangs now then he did then. Yunho threw him an elbow, but Jaejoong merely laughed.

"**And I'm Max Changmin,"** muttered a softer voice. Lilly had to do a double-take to realize who this was. Changmin? The guy in the picture that she had seen had long, brown hair, which managed to make him look Native American. Lilly had secretly hoped that he was Native American so she could relate with someone; she herself was ¼ Cherokee. Changmin wore a maroon wife beater and black sweats with a pair of white sneakers. He spoke shyly, but a fun-loving side could be seen through his deep brown eyes. They each had gorgeous eyes, but she could read Changmin's better for some reason.

"**I'm Lillian Monique,"** she replied. Everyone immediately looked at her when she spoke, including the two goofing off. Woops, wrong language. **"Sorry! I'm Lillian Monique, but you can call me Lilly, Lills, Ills, Illie, or anything else you might want to call me."** She waited for someone to speak up, but they just kept staring at her.

"**Why does her accent sound so strange?"** someone spoke.

"**Yeah, it's funny. Like, it just doesn't sound right. Isn't she from New York?"**

Lilly blushed deeply, causing Yoochun to smile at her embarrassment.

"**Guys, leave her alone. Didn't you read her resume? Sure, she lived in New York, but she was originally from Kentucky. And it sounds cute."** Yunho winked and wrapped his left arm around her shoulder. Lilly's blush deepened, causing the guys to laugh at her.

Lilly nudged Yunho's arm off of her shoulders and turned to face him. He looked a little hurt by her action, but you could tell he'd been laughing at her too along with the others. **"Aren't we supposed to be practicing or something? I didn't leave home, learn Korean, and live on my own for the past year or so to just be made fun of," **she grumbled, angering blazing through her eyes.

"**O-Okay. Come one guys, before she throws a PMS fit on us."** Yunho smiled and waved the guys over towards the front of the room, leaving Lilly to throw a silent fit. She quickly gathered herself and followed behind him. Maybe she wouldn't like today?


	2. Chapter 2: He Sure Can Make a Girl Tired

Chapter 2: He sure can make a girl tired.

After learning the choreography for the first verse and chorus of "Crazy Love", Lilly was beginning to tire. Yunho had made them practice it over and over and over. She wouldn't have been that tired if he would give them a water break every hour or so, but it was nearing 11:00 and she hadn't drunk a drop. 

"**We'll go over the first verse about…..two more times, and then we'll take a ten minute break," **Yunho spoke, eyeing Lilly like he had read her thoughts. Lilly practically wanted to scream victoriously, but she hardly had enough breath left to grunt an 'okay' before trudging over into her position between Yunho and Jaejoong. In this dance, the five boys made an upside-down, widespread 'V', Yunho being in the front, Jaejoong to his right, Junsu to his left, Changmin to the right of Jaejoong and Yoochun to the left of Junsu. The dancers were placed between each member like photographers place people in group shots, filling up the negative space so everyone is seen. After running it though once, a strange thing happened.

When "Baby, I know you know…" comes on in the first verse, the lot of them cross-step, go back and to right, but Jaejoong messed up and went forward and to the left. This move caused him to push Lilly forward, which caused her to topple over Yunho. After toppling over Yunho, both ended up rolling out into the hallway and into the room directly across from their dance studio. This room was pitch black, so whatever was in it couldn't be seen. At this moment, neither of the two really cared about the room.

When Lilly opened her eyes, she found herself straddling Yunho's waist, arms wrapped tightly around his neck for protection. He had his knees bent up behind her, arms wrapping loosely around her waist. She just kept staring in to his dark brown eyes, unable to look away or move. She felt like she was incapable of moving, but in a way didn't feel like getting up. He too must have felt this way, because he couldn't help but stare back into her piercing green eyes. The two lay that way for a moment before Yunho decided to move. He let his left arm fall to his side and used his right arm to brush a strand away from Lilly's face. **"Are you okay, or are you too tired to move? I couldn't have worked you that hard, could I?"** he spoke, giving her a heart-melting smile. She felt her lungs tense as a weird sensation filled her chest. What was she feeling? Did she puncture a lung?

"**N-no, I'm fine."** But, she couldn't make herself stand up. Whether it was her aching muscles or something else, she just wouldn't budge. She just couldn't stop looking at his gorgeous face. His eyes were so lovely. Just the right shade of a dark chocolate-like brown; the perfection of his eyelashes; the skinny bridge of his nose; the adorable little black mole on the left side of his lips; not to mention his amazing jaw line. And his lips… Lilly began to realize how silly her thoughts were. Hadn't her friend said this not three weeks ago when she had visited? _**'Lilly, if you go for any of these guys, go for this one! He looks sooo sexy. Look at those eyes! He has sexy bedroom eyes! And look at those arms… Oh, and the blonde's cute too! You could have a-**__**.**__**'**_Lilly blinked to clear her head. She was going to have to kill Mandy the next time she saw her, which thankfully would be in a few days when she brought her boyfriend. _'Boyfriend…'_ She focused again on Yunho, now noticing that he was still looking at her most likely in hopes of further speaking on her part. **"But, you might have to help me up."**

[Yunho's POV]

He had just been stepping back in cue with the music when another force caused him to fly forward. He could feel a light weight on top of him, both tumbling through the hallway. They slowed to a stop in the opposite room from the dance studio, a large closet holding dance mats and the like. His head throbbed from the hits it took from the ground, but he wasn't really focused on that at the moment. His eyes popped open to see who was on top of him. He was so angry, but he wasn't about to lose his temper; because, the person who had tumbled over him was none other than Miss Monique. By the time he managed to open his eyes, Lilly's jade ones were burning a whole into his. His heart began to flutter, and he could only swallow to make it stop.

Since seeing her picture a few months ago, he had been dying to meet her. He hadn't really seen in person many Americans who could dance, especially one with a body like Lilly's. Plus, she had the most breath-taking eyes; like her eyes could see the pit of his soul. Secretly, he was very interested in 'getting to know her', but he thought himself foolish for liking a girl he had never met…until now.

It all made sense now. The dreams he'd been having; the thoughts plaguing his mind; the feeling in his chest: it all became clear in this single little moment. He could feel her strong legs wrapped snugly around his waist, and her arms around his neck. He felt so perfect lying right there, like nothing else even mattered. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of some movement from across the hall; the others were walking towards the entrance of the building to look for them. Were they that daft? Sure, he was the leader, but they shouldn't need this much guidance! They'd be gone for another three minutes, which gave him enough time to do whatever he could think of next. What was he going to do next? It's not like he could ki-… "_Yunho, you're thinking too much. She's still looking at you!' _**"Are you okay, or are you too tired to move? I couldn't have worked you that hard, could I?"** It took her awhile to answer, which caused him think more in-depth about her. Once she answered, he had practically thought about every part of her body, and couldn't even hear what she had said due to his thoughts. He didn't know how to control himself.

For her sake, he managed to muster up a weak answer**. "Kay."** With one elegant move, he got them both up on their feet, Lilly's leg having released him from the weight shift. Yunho made sure not to drop her in this process, which was a quite easy task thanks to her light weight. His arms were still around her waist, and hers around his neck. He was a lot taller than her, so his back was slightly arched to compensate with her height. **"There. Are we okay now?"** He arched an eyebrow, pretending to seem concerned, though he really wasn't. He was more intrigued with shape of her lips. Her top lip had a cute bow-like arch in the middle, and both her upper and lower lips were very full and contrasted amazingly with the rest of her features.

He lowered his eyebrow and smiled softly. She smiled back too and nodded quickly to answer his question, making his heart speed up again. She looked so cute… How could she be doing this to him? They'd only just met… **"I'll let you go then. The others will be looking for us."**

"**Sure sure. Thanks for making sure I didn't get hurt. And I'm sorry for bumping into you. Ja-….Someone hit me from the back, and I guess I lost my balance,"** she whispered. He could feel her sweet, warm breath wash over his skin, traveling up his throat until it hit his lips, where it stayed for a few seconds. She closed his eyes and moaned softly with pleasure. Even her scent intoxicated him**. ** She spoke in response to his moaning. **"Oh, you're not hurt, are you?"** Another wave of warmth rippled across his flesh, but this time he tried to keep his concentration. She had asked him a question, and he wasn't going to leave her hanging.

"**Y-yeah, I-I'm okay. Guess I just hit my head on the way."** He kept stammering, his concentration weakening.

She ran her fingers up the nape of his neck and into the back of his slightly sweaty hair. He held in a gasp as he closed his eyes yet again. It was like she knew just how to touch him. Her fingers felt amazing as they caressed and tickled the back of his head. He could hear her giggle and guessed he had a funny expression, but hopefully she took it as just one of enjoyment. She slowed her fingers into soft circular motion, and then brought them off of his scalp. She grasped his shoulders tenderly as he opened his eyes, meeting his gaze again with those same penetrating green orbs. This time, however, she looked extremely embarrassed, like she had spelt a bowl of soup or something.

"**I hope doing that was okay. You seemed to enjoy it enough to make it okay,"** she winked at him, immediately causing a smile to spread on his lips. For the first time in a while, he was smiling a REAL smile. How could she satisfy him so much?

"**No, it was great, actually. It felt amazing," **he replied sheepishly, glancing away so he could concentrate. **"We'll need to go meet the others. We're actually done for this morning; we'll be practicing again at about 5 o'clock. I think we're going out to eat in two hours, if you'd like to come…"**

"**Yeah, sure. It gets lonely eating alone in my apartment every day." **Lilly smiled sweetly at him, a affectionate longing sweeping over him.

"**I can meet you at your apartment, if need be. I think I already have your address, so…" **A deep blush stained his cheeks, but he kept his eyes on Lilly. She too was blushing, but her perfect lips were pulled up into a crooked grin.

"**If you're trying to pull something,"** she teased, sending his heart palpating again. She moved her right hand down a little, letting it stay on the middle of his chest. **"That would be lovely, actually. I don't really know the Seoul that well yet." **She lowered her eyes for a second, her long top lashes slightly grazing the skin below her eye. She was looking at something, but Yunho didn't know what. His nose, his mole? No, it had to be something else…

Suddenly, but rather gently, Lilly leaned up and softly kissed the little mole next to his lip. **"You're little mole is cute, by the way. I've never seen another one like it." **She pulled away out of his grasp and smiled. He suddenly missed her warmth; missed her touch. He about reached out to hold her again, but stopped himself. He was reading too much into this. There was no way he liked this girl. He'd just have to pretend he didn't until he actually didn't. **"Oh, and thanks for asking me to eat with you guys. I'd really appreciate it." **She dipped her head a little, showing the Korean way of 'thanks' by bowing the head in respect. Did she really learn this much about the Korean language within just a year? **"I'll see you later, I guess!" **

And with that, she turned and left. Yunho stared after her, watching the way her curves moved with her steps. She definitely had the body of a dancer… He couldn't feel this way, couldn't be this way. He'd have until lunch to get rid of his feelings; a mess-up like this could jeopardize his friends. He couldn't jeopardize his _brothers_. He wasn't about to ruin their good fortunes out of his own greediness. Yunho would just have to forget any and all feelings he felt for Lilly. In the meantime, he could figure out who ruined practice. _'But, what if I can't forget her?' _He touched his cheek where she had kissed him. It was still slightly moist and warm and tingled with his touch. He moved his fingertips to touch his lips next, where her breath still lingered. He couldn't forget her now, no matter how hard he tried. There was something else he felt now, too. **"I…I think I'm in love with her."**


	3. Chapter 3: Company from Jaejoong

[[RECAP: Lilly made it to practice, met the guys, and had a…rather interesting encounter with U-Know Yunho!

After being invited to eat with the guys, Lilly is now headed home to get ready. If she could only get ready in time, that is… WARNING: This chapter is slightly graphic (and no, no sex-wise.). So, please read with caution. It comes up when they start watching a video. So, please read only if you think you can handle it! It's really not _that _ bad, though. =D]]

"_You rockin' with the best. No stress when ya with me. And the way you wear that dress with the heels; make me wanna see you up out it for real. Meet me by the bar, baby. Let's go get a shot!  
Or meet me by a valet. Let's go get my car, cause we'll be goin' 'zoom, zoom, zoom all the way Back to my hotel room. Girl stop actin' like you don't want to. Just reach into ya purse and put my number in ya phone~"_ Hearing her friend's ringtone, Lilly stopped her iTouch and took out her phone and answered it.

"**He-hello?"**

"**Lilly! Stop jogging your boney butt off and talk to me!"** With that remark, Lilly slowed down to a fast-paced walk. She sure knew how to flatter a girl…

"**There. W-what can I do for ya?"** The brunette received continuous stares from the Korean city folk as she spoke in English. What was their problem? Didn't all Koreans understand a little English?

"**You never called me back! I was worried! You never even told me you made it to South Korea! And why are you jogging anyways? Are you by yourself? Someone could kidnap you and-"** Her friend continued to ramble on and on, scolding her for pretty much anything she could think of. Lilly put in a 'sure' and 'yeah' where appropriate, but she had other things on her mind. What was she going to wear for lunch? And it was a late lunch, too. Was she supposed to dress for more of a dinner outing then? **"And I bet you've been listening to your iPod thing while you've been jogging too! Do you know how dangerous that is! I'm going to have to fly over there and-"**

"**W-wait, Camellia!"** It wasn't customary for Lilly to call Cam by her full name, but Lilly didn't have much time for chit-chat. Okay, so she had two hours, but it was going to take an hour at this rate to even make it back to her apartment! Wait, did she just pass it? **"I can't concentrate with you yelling at me!"** She rang the bell; a woman met her at the door and let her in. No one could forget the American. **"I sort of have a….a lunch arrangement for today with DBSK, and I need to get dressed."** She sprinted towards the elevator, but found a long line of people waiting to get in. They didn't even notice the "Out of Order" sign posted on the wall next to the elevator's doors. Thankfully, Lilly was only two floors up. She flung open the door to the stair case and began her ascent.

"**Ooh~! How conservative is this DBSK? You could wear that cute little miniskirt I bought you a few months ago or maybe some short shorts..."**

"**Cams, I hardly ever wear short shorts, and I need to make a good impression," **Lilly discouraged, passing up the first flight of stairs. Was it just her, or was she actually getting quicker at stair climbing?

"**Well, I don't want you dressing up like a librarian. How long do you have? I could take a flight over and-"**

"**No, no. I only have about an hour and…forty minutes left. Though, I wouldn't mind a weekend visit from you! Let's see…today's Friday. You could fly in today or something? I haven't seen you in a yearrrrr."**

"**I knowww. Do I still get a free plane ticket?"**

"**As far as I know, that's still on the table. Though, I think it's only a one-time deal. You'll have to buy your ticket next time. You sure you want to use it now?"**

"**Of course! It's December, and the week of Christmas! Can you imagine celebrating Christmas by yourself?"**

"**Um…I did last year. And with a " **Making her way over to the walk-in closet in her bedroom, Lilly began to rummage through her clothes.

"**Well, you won't have to this year! Oh, Lills, how about that cute (****.****) blue top and jacket you got from Hollister that cost like a billion dollars?"**

"**It didn't cost a billion! Though, it did cost a lot… Yeah, I might wear that with some skinny jeans or something. Any other ideas?"**

"**Nope, sorry. I don't really know what's in your wardrobe, since you've been gone and all. Have you even been shopping since you've been gone? We'll have to go when I get there!"**

"**Okay, **_**Mom**_**."**

"**Hey, don't ever disgrace me like that! I'd rather be dead then to even be slightly compared to that…**_**tramp**_** of a mother of yours."**

"**Hey, it's not her fault I drove her that way."**

"**Lillian Monique! Don't ever talk that way about yourself. You **_**know**_** that she was already like that. Sure, her 'ways' are what brought you into this world, but that doesn't mean you made her that way. You didn't make her sell herself, or do drugs, or abandon **_**you**_**! That wasn't your fault! How many times do we have to go through this?"**

"**One more time, I guess. I just...I don't know, Cams. I just wish she'd at least call or something. I haven't seen her in, what…12 years? And that wasn't the best departure..."**

"**And you still care about her? You've been on your own for most of your life, Lills. You don't need her, and you definitely don't need to be thinking about her now."**

"**You're right, and wrong, Cam. I don't need her, but I haven't been alone. I've had you, and I need you, mkayy? So get your BUBBLY butt over here!"**

"**LILLY! Haha. Okay, okay! I'll get my bubbly ole' butt on a plane, and I'll be there around…10 o'clock tonight if I can wiggle into the first flight out. Oh, and if the plane can hold up my big butt…"**

"**You know I was just kidding, but I'll let you off so you can pick. Love ya, Cam Cam!"**

"**Love ya, Lil' Lill!" **Lilly hung up her phone and pulled her iTouch back out. She pressed the 'shuffle' button, turned it all the way up, and continued to scramble up her closet.

'_It was Friday night and I was feelin' aight. Downtown Atlanta, big city, bright lights. Mixin' Henney wit da Sprite while I'm drinkin' and drivin'; no police lights, no police sirens.' _ Lilly started smiling as "One More Drink" started playing. Wasn't this appropriate? Feeling a sudden urge, Lilly, now only dressed in bra and underwear, wandered out to the kitchen to fetch herself a quick drink. No, she wasn't getting anything alcoholic. She was worried too much about her fluctuating tummy flab to start undoing all the time she spent on keeping in shape with a single drink.

Grabbing some fruit, she crammed whatever she could into a blender and started blending. Sure, the taste would probably suck, but at this point she didn't really care. If it came down to it, Lilly would just pretend it was alcohol if she couldn't down it by pure force. Just as she was pouring her mixture into a sippy cup (You know, like toddlers drink out of?), a knock came on the door.

Running over to the door, Lilly peeped through the little peep hole in the door and saw none other than….Youngwoong Jaejoong! **"O-oh! Jaejoong-sshi!"** Carefully opening the door, Lilly smiled happily at her visitor, but, for some reason, he didn't smile back. He looked her up and down, and then looked away while blushing.

"**Um…um, L-Lilly-sshi,"** he stuttered, managed to glance back at her face. This made his blush worse, so he looked away again. **"I came to see if you needed help picking out clothes or s-something, but…"**

Lilly blinked for a moment. Why was he… Lilly's eyes grew large, and she slammed the door shut. '_Holy sh**! I'm friggin' nude!' _Lilly ran to get her white, fluffy robe from the bathroom, and returned to the door. **"Um…s-sorry you had to see that, Jaejoong-sshi. C-come in."**

"**It's okay. You can just call me Jaejoong, too. And you've got nothing to be sorry about, anyways."** Jaejoong winked playfully. He took a few steps inside, looked around, and then looked down at his feet. **"Uh, do you want me to take my shoes off here, or..?"**

"**Oh, anywhere's fine,"** Lilly managed to say, blush still blotching her face. Jaejoong slipped off his shoes and took another look around. **"Wow, you're apartment's really nice. From the look of the hallway, I thought it would look…um, different, I guess."**

"**Hah. Yeah, I did too when I first got here. And, it did look...different then it does now. But, I'm pretty good at making things look…pretty."** Lilly smiled and returned to making her smoothie. She grasped the handle of the blender and started to pour the stuff into the sippy cup she had out, but the smoothie wouldn't come out.

"**Can I try?"** Jaejoong asked, offering a hand. Lilly nodded and handed Jaejoong the blender. He twisted the lid a bit until a hole appeared over the spout of the blender, and began pouring the mixture into the sippy cup. **"Um, I don't think you mixed this well enough. Did you even add ice?" **He took a lick of the smoothie in the cup slowly, tasting the entire mixture.

'_Now, if I was tasting a smoothie like that, I wouldn't look half as…sexy as he does doing it. Dang…'_ As Lilly continued to marvel at the perfection-known-as-Jaejoong, she didn't notice that he was smiling at her.

"**Hey, pretty lady. You still her?" ** He waved a hand in front of her face, and his sudden movement startled her enough to snap her back into reality. **"I can't dazzle you that much, can I?"** He chuckled and headed over to her refrigerator, retrieving a cup full of ice for the smoothie. **"You should always mix in some ice with your smoothie. That way, it becomes a smoothie instead of just a bunch of fruit mashed up together. Mmkay?"**

"**Gotcha,"**__Lilly nodded and leaned against the marble island and marveled at his genius-ness [If that's a word. XDD]. **"So, besides the ice, did I pretty much do it right? I'm not really good at this sort of thing. Normally, my girlfriend-"**

"**Y-you have a girlfriend? I thought… Your resume said that you were stra-"**

"**No, no! I AM straight! I guess Korea isn't exactly like America, huh? Well…girlfriend in this perspective just means, like…'best friend girl', but I just say 'girlfriend'. Her name's Camellia and she's coming in today to stay over for the week to celebrate Christmas with me." **He raised one of his flawless brows at her and smirked. **"And NO, not like that!"**

"**Surrre. Next thing you know, you'll be having 'boyfriends' over." **He handed her the cup, and then began to make fun of her in a girly voice. **"A boyfriend in this perspective just means, like…'best guy friend', but I just call them 'boyfriends'. And just because they sleep over doesn't mean-"**

"**Okay, wise guy, I get it. But, I don't think that's what boyfriend means. Boyfriend means 'boy who is overly-friendly', hence the 'boyfriend' part."**

"**And the 'overly-friendly' part doesn't seem demeaning to you at all?"** He gave her a questioning look, which left her slightly breathless.

"**M-maybe. I need to get dressed, so… Oh, thanks for the drink."** She headed towards the bedroom, leaving him by himself.

"**Ah, you're welcome, pretty lady."** He rolled his eyes cutely and followed her into her bedroom. Trey Songz' "Missing You" was playing on Lilly's iTouch.

'_I can't stop missin you. Wish I was there with you. I can't stop missin you. No, no, no, no. I can't stop missin you. Wish I was there with you. I can't stop missin you. No, no, no, no.'_

"' _**I miss the way you kiss, miss the way you wear them heels and make it switch. Miss the way your hair blows in the wind and I miss you stayin here 'til the morning. Miss the way you put on your makeup. Miss the way you love me too much. It's everything about you baby; wanna know where you been lately.'" **_Jaejoong's angelic voice echoed off the walls, singing perfectly along with the English blasting from the headphones. He was laying horizontally on her bed stomach-down, propping himself up with his elbows and resting one of his hands up against his cheeks while using the other to play with a fuzzy green sock he found, but didn't drop his gaze from her. He winked at her and continued singing, kicking his legs one after the other into the air. How many times could a guy wink in a day? Not that Lilly really cared at the moment... _**"'Do you go out? Do you still live at your old house? Do you got somebody new in your life? Cuz I can't get you out of my mind. **_**And I wanna erase, but I can't stop seein' your face. And every girl I try to replace you with… Why can't I get over it? Simply cuz I can't…**_**'**_**"**

"**Are you gonna keep singing all day, Mr. Helpful, or are you gonna help me get dressed?"**

"**Sure, sure." ** He pushed himself up and off of the bed, and dropped down on his knees to help Lilly shuffle through all the clothes flung out onto her floor. **"I like what you had laid out on your bed. What else are you looking for?"**

"**These, actually,"** she replied, tugging at a pair of faded skinny jeans [.] under his bum. He lifted himself up so she could pull out the jeans from underneath him, and then dropped back down. **"Think this will look okay?"**

"**Great, actually. Oh, and how about these?" ** he asked, holding up a pair of (either . or .; whichever you'd like. 3) white boots. Lilly scrutinized the boots, then nodded and held out her hands. Jaejoong handed her the boots, and then he handed her clothes on the bed. She stood up and began to take off her robe, but stopped before she pulled it off.

"**Um…are you gonna watch or watch?"**

"**I'll watch, actually. Thanks,"** he sneered, rolling his eyes yet again before spinning around to face the wall opposite of Lilly. **"This good enough, pretty lady?"**

"**Where do you get off calling me 'pretty lady' anyways? I'm hardly pretty, and-" **Lilly paused to pull up her skinny jeans and button them.** "I'm definitely not pretty compared to you."**

"**Psh. I may be 'good-looking-', but I'm definitely not the definition of 'pretty'. You, on the other hand.." **He spun around again, now facing a half-dressed Lilly, donning only a pair of skinny jeans and her bra. He stroked the side of her face with his hand. **"'It's everything about you, baaabbeee~..'"** He smiled and dropped his hand, staring into her eyes the entire time. **"Thinking in such a way will just hold you back. You really are beautiful, Lilly. You just need to embrace it."** He smiled sweetly at her, then turned and left the bedroom.

What was up with these Korean guys lately? First, Yunho was trying to 'pull some moves' on her, and now Jaejoong? Lilly finished putting the rest of her clothes on, saving the boots for last, and then grabbed her iTouch and a black clutch and left the room. She then found Jaejoong watching a video on her plasma screen TV in the living room. To her dismay, it was a video she had hoped she'd left at home… (WARNING: the graphic part is coming up. Please don't read if you're really sensitive to things!)

"**Is that you? You looked cute,"** Jaejoong spoke softly. Lilly walked around the couch and sat beside him. She could see the odd expression on his face, like he didn't understand what he was seeing, or maybe he didn't understand all the English. She didn't blame it. She never understood it either. **"The video was labeled "A Good Farewell", so I thought it was some sort of American video and was going to watch it. But this isn't what I expected."**

On the screen, you could hear a child-like Camellia talking behind the camera, probably the one videotaping the event. A little Lilly could be seen waddling around the house. Both girls looked to be about 6 or 7 years old. Lilly walked into a bedroom, and ran over to the bed. _"Mom, mom! Wake up! You were supposed to get up and hour ago! Mom!"_ Little Lilly continued to shake the figure in the bed. A syringe fell out of the covers, and Little Lilly picked it up_. __ "Look, Cam Cam! It's like that thing in the doctor case at school! I'mma play with it!" _ And with that, Little Lilly stuck the needle into her arm and pushed the plunger. Within an instant, she fell to the floor like a stone.

"_Lil' Lill! Get up! Your mom's getting up! Lilly!" _ Little Cam ran over to Little Lil, dropped the camera a few feet off, and attempted to pick her up. From the angle of the camera, three figures could now be seen.

"_Wh-what are you two doing? I told you two-,"_ the woman paused, pushing herself out of the bed in a hurry. _"To never come back here! And what-what did she do?" The_ woman paused to see the syringe on the floor. Her fumbling fingers grasped the syringe, but her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't keep a hold of it. The syringe dropped to the carpet, and the woman turned back to the girls. She grabbed Little Cam by the shoulders and started to shake her back and forth madly. _"What did you do with it?! WHAT DID YOU DO!?!" _Little Cam couldn't hold on to Little Lilly any longer and dropped her. She scrambled away, forgetting that she had even dropped Little Lilly until she had made it a few feet away. Little Cam turned back in horror to see the woman pick up Little Lilly.

"_You, you dirty little b****. You used it, didn't you?!"_ the woman screamed. She had Little Lilly dangling by her wrists, but Little Lilly wasn't even conscious enough to realize the pain she should've been in. After shaking her madly, the woman swung Little Lilly up against the wall repeatedly, a crack or two clearly audible in the video. Then, she threw her across the room and into a large shelf. As Little Lilly hit the ground, so did the shelf. Now, only Little Lilly's bruised-up arm could be seen sticking out from underneath the shelf. Little Cam was screaming and wailing, and was now curled up into a ball.

"_H-how could you? Help! HELP ME! LILLLLLY!" _Little Cam screamed, kicking and clawing at the woman who was now bent over towards her.

"_Shut up! S-Shut up!"_

"_Hey! What's going on in here!"_ A man's voice came from behind the camera, and soon enough a man in brown slacks and a black, heavy coat hurried over to the woman and Little Cam. _"Get off of her!"_

He managed to shove her off of Little Cam. Loud, thumping footsteps could be heard running out of the room, and the man was now crouched over Little Cam. _"Hey, little girl, are you alright?"_

"_Y-Yeah. B-b-but…Lilly.."_ She pointed over to the shelf, and the man gaped in horror at the scene. He stood up and ran over to Little Lilly, picked up the shelf and examined her broken and beaten up body.

"_Sh-she's gonna be okay. She's going to be okay,"_ he muttered, softly taking her pulse. He looked like he was afraid to touch Little Lilly, like she would break if he did, but it was obvious that nothing more could be done to the girl.

"_A-And mister, that stuff over there-,"_ Little Cam yelled out, pointing at the syringe. _"That stuff came out of the bed. It was her mom's. Lilly played with it like the doctor game we have at school. It was supposed to be fun, bu-but she just fell over."_

"_Little girl, don't ever play with this stuff. Why in the world do they make little kids games like this?" _The man bent over and picked up the syringe. The video started to shutter and flickered off.

Jaejoong sat flabbergasted, staring at the TV like it was a ghost. Lilly sat smugly on the sofa, not daring to move. The apartment was perfectly still. Not even the whir of the freezer could disturb the trance both of the two were in. Jaejoong was trying to make even the slightest sense of the movie he had just seen, while Lilly was reliving ever second of it.

"**Li-Li-Lilly,"** Jaejoong breathed, head slowly turning to face her. He blinked quickly, trying to focus himself enough to see her. When he finally did, her entire face was damp with tears, and the mascara was smudged across every inch of her cheeks. **"Is…is this real?"**

"**I-I didn't think you would understand the English,"** Lilly choked out, but it was barely comprehendible. Jaejoong's eyes softened immediately, tears meeting the brims of his eyelids. She stiffened slightly as he brought her into a smothering hug, but couldn't help but relax into his arms.

"**I'm so sorry, Lilly. I shouldn't have meddled with your things. I'm...**_**so**_** sorry."**

"**It's…okay. I haven't seen her since then, so…" **After a few seconds, Lilly started bursting into tears. She clung onto Jaejoong's waist tightly, and he kept his arms draped comfortably around her back. They both sat like that for a while, one comforting and the other sobbing.

Jaejoong waited until her sobbing had ceased before speaking again. **"A-And your dad?"**

"**Some guy she met in a club somewhere. She slept around with people, did drugs. You know, the average kind of actions of a mother…"**

"**That's definitely not an average action. At least, not by most mothers. Though, none of this was on your resume…"**

Lilly pulled back to look him square in the eye. **"And, if it had, you guys wouldn't have even **_**considered**_** considering me for this job, now would you? I had to put Cam as my mom…"**

"**Lilly! We might have… Wait, is she even that much older than you?"**

"**Actually, we were born on the same day of the same year: April 20****th****, 1988."**

"**Wow. And we bought this?"**

"**On the resume, she's actually 59."**

"**Hah. Nice."**

"**She doesn't care. I tell her she's a hot-looking 59-year old."**

"**Yeah, forgot about the girlfriend thing."**

"**Hey, she's not my girlfriend!"**

Jaejoong raised a brow again and brought up the corner of his lip to smirk funnily at her. Suddenly, he pushed her down on the sofa and leaned over her. **"Then, if she's not your girlfriend, and you don't have any boyfriends," **he paused and got even closer to her face. So close, in fact, that their lips probably weren't separated by a small, black ant's length. **"Why aren't you dating anybody?"** His voice came as a whisper this time; or rather, more like he just breathed the words out. His eyes fluttered up to see her green ones, but quickly darted down to stare at her lips. His eyes half-way closed, teasing Lilly to make the first move.

A shudder rippled up and down Lilly's spine as she tried to find the words to say; any words to say. **"W-Well, I guess I just haven't found anyone yet…"**

"**Haven't…found anyone?"**

"**Wrong answer,"** he whispered again. Leaning forward even closer, Jaejoong brushed his lips softly against Lilly's, but pulled away before things got too heated. **"But I'll give you another try."**

Her heart was doing somersaults in her chest. Again, first Yunho, then Jaejoong… She'd have to keep away from the rest of TVXQ. **"Um…" ** She struggled under his weight, trying to budge him off, but he wouldn't move. **"I don't know, okay! Maybe I'm too fat or ugly, or maybe I'm just super mean and everyone hates me? I don't know!"**

"**Then get ready for your punishment."** Within an instant, his lips crashed fervently against hers, lining up perfectly with the shape of her lips. Lilly softly moaned to detest, but her arms found their way around his neck anyway. Jaejoong had to break the kiss, a large smile spreading across his lips. **"Maybe I should have given you a different punishment?"**

"**Y-You just.."**

"**Yes? I just kissed you?"**

"**You just…took my first kiss," **she commented sheepishly. Jaejoong blinked slowly, not taking in her words at first.

"**I-I did?**" He blinked again, trying to understand. **"I'I'm sorry. I-"**

Suddenly, a knock came from the front door. **"Lilly-sshi! It's Yunho!"**

"**Aigoo!" **Lilly shrieked. Jaejoong quickly put a finger to her lip, signaling her to be quiet.

"**Come on. Go into your bedroom, and wait until I answer the door to start coming out. Look slightly disheveled and say 'I'm coming' or something like that when you come to the door.."**

She gave him a questionable look before exiting to her room.

"**Ah, Yunho-ah! It's great to see you!" **Jaejoong chirped whilst opening the door.

"**J-Jaejoong? What are you doing here?"**

"**Ah, Lilly-sshi didn't know what to wear because you failed to mention where we were eating at. So, I came over to help her pick out her outfit. She's getting dressed right no-"**

"**I'm coming!"** Lilly called, coming around the corner to the front door. Jaejoong turned to see her, smiling at how she appeared. She had managed to unwind her scarf in the time frame she was given to 'look disheveled' and started to wind it back around her neck before coming to the door. So, it sort of looked like she hadn't had much time to fully get dressed before Yunho got there. It looked perfectly innocent, right?

"**But Jaejoong, you left our apartment complex about an hour ago… Where did you go beforehand?"**

Jaejoong's eyes grew large as he looked hopefully at Lilly for an answer.

"**Oh, we went shopping for these boots. Aren't they the cutest?"** Lilly cheered, hoping Yunho couldn't see through her façade.

"**Oh, makes sense. It must have taken forever to find a pair of boots around here, seeing as how you're in the food market district and all." **Shoot, he wasn't going to buy into it.

"**Ah, Yunho, you're forgetting about the new little pagodas about four blocks from this very building. They sell clothes and shoes there, remember? That's where Junsu got his new sneakers,"** Jaejoong added.

"**Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry,"** Yunho muttered, peering behind Jaejoong to see Lilly again. **"She looks great, though. Good job, Joongie."**

"**Joongie,"** Lilly mimicked, poking playfully at Jaejoong's arm.

"**Yunnnie! You're embarrassing me!"**

"**YUNNIE?! How many nicknames are there that end with an 'ie' sound?"**

"**There's Joongie, Yunnie, Chunnie, Minnie, and Junnie. Oh, and now Lilly,"** Jaejoong added, send yet another wink Lilly's way. This time, though, she punched his arm, turning his wink into an expression of pain. **"Hey, don't make me slip up and say something!"**

"**You wouldn't!"**

"**Would so! Yunnie, guess what I did today!"**

"**Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!"**

"**NEVER!"**

"**Aigoo…"** Yunho shook his head and left the two to fight amongst their selves. They followed him down the hallway with their little spat before Lilly decided to change their argument into a question.

"**So, 'Joongie', where are we eating again?"**

"**It's some place 20 miles or so to the north. They serve up a lot of Asian cuisines, especially Korean dishes strictly from Seoul. Seafood and-"**

"**Oh, great. Seafood."**

"**What's wrong with seafood?" ** Yunho asked, a look of disappointment tinted his eyes.

"**N-Nothing's wrong with seafood. It's just that…well, as long as I've been in Seoul, I've been eating seafood. Squid, octopus, crab…"** Lilly sighed, now deciding to end her sentence in English. **"I'd do anything for a piece of chicken!"**

"**Anything?" **Yunho asked with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4: KFC and kimchi

[[RECAP: Lilly's friend Cam called Lilly when Lilly was on her way to her apartment, and we found out some things about Lilly's mother. And now, Cam has decided to visit Lilly for Christmas. After hanging up the phone with Cam, Lilly had a surprise visit from Jaejoong. After helping her pick out some clothes, Jaejoong stumbled upon a video about Lilly's mother which is how we found out that Lilly has been pretty much on her own for her whole life. Somehow, Lilly and Jaejoong ended up having a kissing scene, but were interrupted by Yunho before things go any farther. Lilly finds out that they are going to a seafood restaurant and tries to persuade Yunho otherwise, which gives Yunho an idea…]]

"**Anything?" **Yunho asked with a smile. **"Joongie, how badly did you want to eat seafood?"**

"**Very badly, actually. All of us have been on that salad diet for too long… It really is a good restaurant, Lilly. The seafood's really spicy and-"**

"**N-No thank you. I don't really like spicy foods."**

"**Then it's settled. Jaejoong, you and the others will still go to the restaurant, but I'll be taking Lilly-sshi elsewhere…"**

"**Hey, how come you get to take Lilly out to eat?"**

"**Because, as the leader, I have to take on any burdens or troubles that the group has..."**

"**Wait, I'm a burden?" **Lilly placed a hand on her hip, something she always did when she was getting upset.

"**Not exactly. But you're being burdensome by not complying with the rest of the group, even after being **_**invited**_** to eat with us."** Yunho didn't want to be mean, but if he wanted to learn more about Lilly he was going to have to get her away from the rest of the group. **"Are you always this ungrateful?"**

"**I-I didn't mean to be,"** Lilly sighed, lowering her eyes to the vintage carpet below. Was she being too ungrateful? They had hired _her_ over the many other equally-eager dancers, Korean dancers even, and she dared to be even slightly rude? **"Seafood is definitely fine, no worries. I'm sorry I was so rude…"**

Darn, now how was Yunho supposed to get her alone? He thought she'd just argue out her point a little more. Weren't most Americans aggressive? Maybe he just watched too many English action movies…

"**It's okay if you don't want seafood, Lilly. If you don't like seafood, you don't have to eat it. But, do you want to go and eat dessert later on tonight?" **Jaejoong asked, also trying to get some additional Lilly-time.

"**Yeah, sure. The six of us, though? You know how Changmin gets when you give him too much food at one time."** Yunho sighed, remembering the last time they ate out and got ice cream. Changmin was bouncing off the walls and wouldn't let anyone get to sleep, and Junsu becomes a very cranky person without sleep…. Yunho shuddered.

"**Ah, right. Maybe just…the three of us then?" **Jaejoong added, secretly hoping that Yunho wouldn't come.

"**Sure, sure. We'll have to make up an excuse not to go home with the others, though. "**

"**Easyyy. I'll just tell them that I-"**

"**Wait!"** Lilly interrupted. **"My girlfriend's arriving today at about 10 o'clock. How am I supposed to get her?"**

"**Y-Your girlfriend?"**

"**I'll explain later."**

"**Well, that'll be our excuse to leave practice early. Your girlfriend will just have to eat ice cream with us."** Yunho still didn't understand the girlfriend thing. Lilly had a girlfriend?

"**It's not her actual girlfriend, Yunnie. It's just like a little nickname she calls her best friend. Her actual name is Cam."**

"**Well, it's actually Camellia, but Joongie's still right." ** Lilly started laughing. **"Joooongie."**

"**Oh, well, we better get going then. Jaejoong, tell the others where we'll be going."**

"**Where are we going?"**

"**You'll see…"**

After arriving at the restaurant, Lilly couldn't even think straight.

"**Kentucky Fried Chicken? Are you serious?"**

"**It's the only American restaurant close to the dance studio. This way, we can get to practice on time. Besides, weren't you originally from Kentucky?"**

"**Well, yes. How'd you know that?"**

"**I did a little checking up on you."** Actually, he did a lot of research on her with the two hours he had to 'prepare' for their lunch. After taking a quick shower and changing when he got home, Yunho had spent the rest of the time calling SM Entertainment for phone numbers of her family, only to realize that she had no family. The name of her father wasn't even recorded, so he couldn't check there. Her mother's phone number wasn't written down either, so she didn't have any maternal family to check up with. Her supposed Guardian was indeed none other than Camellia; Yunho already knew about her.

When he had called her, Yunho was surprised at Camellia's fluent Korean. According to Cam, Lilly had taught Cam all the Korean she had been learning, and Lilly had learned Korean all on her own through books and audio lessons.

Yunho had also managed to get a rough-sketch of Lilly's life: Lilly's life was the result of a one-night stand; her father didn't want anything to do with her; her mother ran off on her when she was little (and Cam told him the same story Jaejoong had seen on the tape, but didn't leave out the part that was left out on the tape: the part where Lilly was in a body cast for 6 months to recover from the damage dealt by the shelf. Though, thanks to the damage, Lilly was able to dance better because it somehow made her more flexible.); how Cam was a foster kid and, when Lilly was also put into foster care, the two of them ended up running away from any family they were placed with; how the two of them had slowly made their way up to New York, which is another reason there has been no contact from Lilly's mom or dad; how Cam and Lilly were in a street team called 'Shot Up and Knocked Out', which was a secret shout-out to Lilly's mother, and how the team 'battled' other dance teams since Cam and Lilly were both 11-years old; how Lilly and Cam's street team decided to use whatever money they earned to buy the five of them (two boys and a girl made up the rest of the team; the lot of them were all runaways) an apartment so they didn't have to sleep on the streets; Lilly and Cam only had up to a 3rd grade educational level, but they both had studied everything they should've learned in school through old books they had managed to find or collect from the streets; Lilly excelled in all Math and Science subjects, but refused to do anything but dance; Cam had a new boyfriend, but he broke up with her an hour before Yunho had called because Cam's boyfriend didn't want her to leave him on Christmas; and Lilly used to have a boyfriend before signing with SM Entertainment. He was a guy she met at a food market when they were both buying fruit. The guy dumped her because he thought she was just wasting her time dancing when she could have been doing something better with herself. They had been dating for three years, which is why Lilly hasn't dated another guy since; she's too afraid of getting hurt again if she makes another 'mistake' (She now considers dancing a mistake, but knows that she loves it too much to give it up).

Besides that bulk of information, Cam had suggested that Yunho play a game that she and Lilly always played when they were bored: 20 Questions. Though, she had also suggested that he cut it down to 10 questions because Lilly tended to get bored after the first 10 and would quit playing. At least Yunho could get to know a little bit more about her in this way...

"**And how did you go about checking up on me? Cam?"**

"**H-How'd you know that I talked with her?"**

"**My resume didn't say I was from Kentucky. Plus, Cam and I are the only ones that know. Well, until now…"**

"**What's so wrong about being from Kentucky?"**

"**Pretty much everything. Don't I have a funny accent?"**

"**I just figured it was because Korean is your second language. But, I've heard you speak English. It's not that bad. It's better than my accent in English, anyways."**

"**But Korean accents are cute, especially when you try to say 'girl'."**

"**Gir?"**

"**Yeah, see? You can't make the same sounds we do. It's cute."**

"**Whatever,"** Yunho said, rolling his eyes and smirking. **"But Cam did say for me to play a little game with you to get to know you better. "**

"**Lemme guess, 10 questions? You know I get to ask you 10 questions back, right?"**

"**Yeah, yeah, I know. So, can we play?"**

"**Yeah, but don't you want to order some food first?"**

"**I already sent in a pre-order before we got here. You like buffalo wings, right?"**

"**I'm gonna kill Cam."**

"**Pshh, will not."** Yunho took a drink of his Dr. Pepper and continued. **"Anyways, first question: If you were trapped in a square box about 6' by 6' and you were only given a shaver, a box of crayons, a bottle of water and a clipboard, how would you survive?"**

Lilly took a sip of her Sprite. Yunho had a tactical approach, she'd give him that much. **"Easy. I could survive two ways: One- I'd use one crayon to decorate the walls, floor and ceiling of the box so it would sort of look like a room or something so I wouldn't freak out. Then, I could break off the blades of the shaver to shave down pieces of the crayon into shapes so I could eat it and think it's real food. I would use the clipboard to keep track of my days. This choice is only possible if the box is anything unbreakable. Though, I guess I couldn't survive this way… If it's breakable, I would attempt choice two: break it open."**

"**Okay, question two: who do you like better, me or Jaejoong?"**

On that question, Lilly choked on her second sip of Sprite. **"E-Excuse?"**

"**I'm not stupid. I know that Jaejoong didn't come over just to help you get dressed. Well, that's actually possible all-in-all… Still, Jaejoong's too big of a flirt to just want to come over and talk. You can see that he likes you by the way he looks at you."**

"**And you? How do you factor into this equation?"**

"**Honestly, I was hoping it was obvious."** Yunho looked at Lilly, waited for her to respond, and sighed. Maybe it wasn't? **"I think I like you too."**

"**Oh….well, I honestly don't know. I haven't gotten to know you all yet, so…"**

"**Which is why we're playing this game. Third question: who's the best-looking between me and Jaejoong?"**

"**Yunho!"** she yelled sarcastically.

"**Fine, I'll pick a different question. Third question: what's your favorite color?"**

"**Hot pink, and whatever color goes well with hot pink, which is pretty much all of them."**

"**Hm… Okay, fourth-" **Suddenly, Yunho stopped mid-sentence, arms wrapping around his stomach. His eyes shut softly, pain clearly washing over his face.

"**A-Are you okay?"**

"**Yeah, I think. If I don't eat, I get ill sometimes…"**

"**Oh, did you not eat this morning?"**

"**Hm? Oh, no."** Yunho shook his head, emphasizing the pain he was in. Lilly, in a worried frenzy, ran to the front counter.

"**Excuse me! We pre-ordered food, but we haven't gotten it yet. It's been about twenty minutes since we've been here."**

"**Hey, what do you think you're doing? You can't just barge up in front of people like that! Don't Americans have any manners?"** yelled a man from the back of the line.

"**Yeah, wait your turn! We've been waiting in line for thirty minutes while you've just sat back there. You can wait your turn!"**

"**But we pre-ordered! What's the sense of pre-ordering and wasting the time to do so when you could've been doing something else if you're not even going to get your food on time?"**

"**Well, I'm sorry Miss I-Think-I'm-All-that, but you're just going to have to wait like the rest of us. Where do you even get off yelling at people and throwing your weight around? You're just a stupid American. I'm surprised you ended up in South Korea instead of South Afri-"** The man was cutoff mid-sentence by the sudden appearance of a very sickly-looking Yunho.

"**Sir, please don't be so hateful. She was just doing this for me."** He looked so protective trying to take up for her. This made Lilly smile broadly. "**I-It's okay, Lilly. We'll just go…"** But, before he could finish his sentence, Yunho collapsed over onto Lilly, who struggled with the sudden weight.

"**Hey, it's U-Know Yunho!"****  
****"Oh my, he's fainted!"****  
****"Yeah, look! He looks sick… Why's he with that foreigner?"  
"Hey, isn't she their new dancer?"  
"Yeah, I heard their new one was from America."**

"**Hey! Shut up! Can't you see he's sick?!?"** Lilly screamed out. Actually, she practically sang out and at such a high octave that everyone in the over-sized KFC stopped speaking and moving immediately.

"**Can **_**you**_** all be that stupid? He's a person! A friggin' person! Why do you guys freak out so much over celebrities? We Americans aren't even half this bad! We treat people with **_**respect**_**. Well, at least I do. I thought Korea was a place that highly-valued the respect of others? Doesn't this apply to celebrities too?"**

"**I-I guess you're right. H-Here's your food, Miss."** A woman behind the counter handed Lilly a bag. Lilly managed to pull Yunho onto her back piggyback-style, clenched the KFC bag between her teeth and walked out of the restaurant. Thankfully, a park was only about three blocks off, so she didn't have to carry him too far off.

'_What should I do? Call the others? Oh, he looks sooo sick.'_ She managed to find a bench off into a more-secluded part of the park, though no one else was walking around the park anyways. She laid him down softly onto the bench and crouched down onto her knees.

"**Yunho! Yunho, come on! ** **You've gotta wake up for me, love. I don't have the strength to carry you much farther."** She shook him gently, but he didn't move. She placed a hand onto his forehead, but quickly removed it. His forehead was hot, and his face was turning pale. Plus, his body felt like ice. **"Ahh, Yunho-ah, you've got to wake up! I don't know what to do!" **A warm tear seared down her cheek. She didn't bother rubbing it away, she didn't have time. She quickly removed her jacket and wrapped it around his body. It was almost the end of December and Yunho wasn't wearing a coat. She'd have to yell a bit at him later…

She would just have to make him eat if she even hoped for him to get better. **"Mashed potatoes…you don't have to chew those, right?"** Within an instant, she had whipped out the mashed potatoes from the plastic bag. She didn't want to have to force-feed him, but she had to if she wanted him to get better. She got a spoonful and lightly parted his lips. **"I hope this helps you."**

After forcing him to swallow about half of the large cup of mashed potatoes, the color was starting to return to his face, but his forehead was still too hot. **"Let's see… Oh, idea!" **She took off the shirt she had on, leaving her only in a tank top, and started to look around. **"Yes, there's water!"** A little stream lied a few feet away. She quickly went over to soak her shirt in the cold water and returned to his side. She folded up the damp shirt into a makeshift rectangle and placed it on his forehead. He stirred slightly from the contact of the cold cloth, startling Lilly a little.

"**W-Why am I in a park?"** he asked weakly, cracking open his eyes to look around.

"**You passed out on me and I had to carry you on my back. Which reminds me, are we ever going to lift weights?"**

"**I was that heavy?"**

"**Nah. I just don't have a lot of upper body strength." ** She examined Yunho closely, making sure that she wasn't forgetting to take care of something. Yunho shuddered softly, causing Lilly to panic a little. **"How're we doing, love?"**

Yunho smiled a little. **"Just fine, actually. I shake a little when my temperature starts to return to normal."** He looked her over quickly and the smile went away from his face. **"What happened to your clothes? Did they tear them off of you at the restaurant or something?"**

"**Oh, hah. No, silly. You're wearing them."**

"**Oh. That explains how there's something on my forehead too. I normally don't get a fever when I get sick from forgetting to eat. I must've caught a virus or something."**

"**It's okay. I can wait here all day until you get better. Feel like eating?"**

Yunho nodded weakly and smiled in thanks. Lilly smiled too and broke open the buffalo wing box. She tore off a bite-sized piece and signaled for Yunho to open her mouth by opening hers and making an 'ah' sound. He chuckled softly and opened his mouth, letting her feed him. This scene continued for about ten minutes, Lilly making funny sounds and movements while Yunho just laughed and ate contently, until all the food was gone.

"**Oh, you didn't eat any, Lilly."**

"**I'll be okay. Don't worry about me."**

"**No, Camellia said you have low blood sugar. You have to eat."** Yunho sat up on the bench, but Lilly tried to push him back down by placing her hands on his shoulders and pushing him back down gently. Her shirt that she had put on his forehead fell off into the grass, but neither noticed. He grabbed her hands softly in his and pulled her up to sit on the bench with him. **"I'm not letting you pass out on me, Lilly."**

"**No, really, I'll be okay. It only gets really bad if I don't eat for a long period of time****.**** I've still got a good hour left in me."**

"**We're going to have to ditch practice, anyways. There's no way I can practice today, and there's no way I'm letting you go until you let me buy you something to eat."**

"**No, really, I'll be okay! I just want to make sure you're okay."**

"**How come you suddenly care so much about me? I thought you and Jaejoong were best buddies and all,"** he teased. He took one of her hands in one hand and used his other to trace little shapes into her palm. **"Unless you guys are suddenly more than that…"**

"**Okay, Yunnie, I've barely even met you guys. Strike that, I've **_**just**_** met you guys. I'm crazy to even consider liking you two like that…"**

"**But, you have considered it?"**

"**Yeah****..****."**

"**Well, that's good enough for me."** Yunho smiled and looked closely at her eyes. **"Fourth question: What color are your eyes? They looked paler earlier…"**

"**Yeah, they're normally a pale-ish aquamarine/jade color, but when….they get wet, they kind of turn more jade-like."**

"**And why were they wet?"** he asked, his lips pulling over his teeth in a cute grin.

"**Um, it was raining, like, really hard and I was trying to see through all the rain to see where we were going and-"**

"**So, why aren't I all soaking wet from the really hard rain?"**

"**I dried you off."**

"**How'd you dry me off? Portable hairdryer?"**

"**No." **Lilly looked around quickly, and pointed to a wet spot in the grass where she had wringed out her shirt earlier before putting it on his head. **"I rolled you around in the grass."**

He laughed and rolled his eyes playfully.** "And I suppose after that, you brushed the bits of grass on my clothes off with a brush you made out of pine needles and wood?"**

"**Yup, that's what happened."**

"**Suuuure."**

"**What, you don't believe me?"**

"**I was conscious enough to hear you call me 'love' for the first time earlier, but for some reason I couldn't make myself wake up then. If you had been rolling me around in the grass, I'm sure that would've been enough to bring me back."**

"**Ah… Well, I guess you're right. My eyes were just wet, okay?!?"** She stared angrily at him, but he just laughed back at her.

"**Okay, sure. And I was just sleeping."**

Lilly felt a lump come up in her throat and tears lightly brim her eyes. He just wasn't going to let the subject drop, was he? **"F-Fine, you really want to know? I was crying a little, okay? You had me worried. I thought you were going to die on me." **She looked sadly up at him, jade eyes burning into his chocolate ones. Like a magnet, her eyes pulled him to her. He cupped her chin with his hands and softly kissed her bottom lip. It was a sweet, gentle sort of kiss, like ones you see in movies when the actors and actresses make it seem like they really care about each other. But, these two weren't acting.

After a brief moment, they both slowly pulled away and opened their eyes. A tingle ran through Lilly's bottom lip, causing her to reach up and touch it. They both smiled softly, each of their gazes not leaving the other's face. **"'I hope doing that was okay. You seemed to enjoy it enough to make it okay,'" **he whispered, quoting her from their little incident earlier.

"**Oh, shut up,"** she whispered, and then pulled him back into another kiss. Yunho's kisses felt more sweet and caring than Jaejoong's. Though, that could be because Jaejoong's kiss was during an entirely different sort of situation altogether…

Yunho pulled away slowly and smiled at her. **"Hungry?"** he asked.

"**N-No? What makes you ask that?"**

"**Well, I don't know, because your stomach was growling louder than a freeway?"**

"**Oh! Sorry! I wasn't paying attention to that… And besides, that could've waited. I was having so much more fun kissing you then I ever would have eating…"**

"**Well, I can kiss you anytime you'd like, but you need to eat. C'mon, we'll walk down the street and see if there are any little pagodas selling food."**

"**Kay."**

"**Oh, and here. At least put your jacket back on. Wouldn't want you catching a cold."**

"**Well, I can't avoid that now, but okay. How's your fever, by the way?"**

"**Oh, darn. Sorry. If you get sick, I'll let you out of practice early,"** he said with a wink. **"And, my fever's fine for now, but I should probably get some medicine or something to help it run its course."**

"**Kay. Medicine first, then food."**

"**No, food first, then I'll get some medicine."**

"**No, you're sick. We're getting some meds first."**

"**No, you're hungry, and I don't want you getting sick. Now come on, maybe we'll find a place with food AND medicine…"**

**  
**After wandering the streets of Seoul for about thirty minutes, Lilly began to get dizzy. **"C-Can we stop for a second? I'm getting dizzy…"**

"**I told you we should've gotten some food back at the last stall…"**

"**Well, he looked like the 'I'm-gonna-food-poison-you-foo' type of guy…"**

"**Funny. You just thought it cost too much."**

"**But it did! 10,000 won for some stinkin' kimchi stew? That's like…I don't know how much in American dollars, but it's too much, especially if it's for me!"**

"**It would be $7.67USD, if I'm correct."** Yunho smirked, but Lilly just shook her head. "**And I thought I was the penny-pincher… Still, it smelled pretty decent, actually. We can go back…"**

"**No, it's not worth that much. I'm not worth that much."**

"**You are so worth that much. You're worth 100,000 times that much."**

"**If I'm worth that much, you'd think I'd have some type of family…"** Suddenly, everything started to spin, and Lilly couldn't see clearly. **"I-I need to sit down. Yunho, I need to sit down."**

"**Ah, there's no place to sit down around here. But here,"** he squatted down so that his back was close to Lilly's height. **"Jump on. I'll go back and buy us some kimchi. I'm still hungry too, oddly."**

"**Kay, as long as you get yourself some too, I won't feel as bad."**

"**Precisely the idea."**

After buying only one bowl of kimchi stew (AKA kimchi-jjiggae) and a bowl of rice, Yunho had Lilly hold on to the plastic bag that the kimchi stew was in and continued to walk down the street.

"**I'm taking it you're not going to eat any."**

"**Again, precisely the idea."**

"**Dirty liar."**

"**Dirty? Noooo. A liar? You bet."**

"**Ughh. Man, I hate you now. I'm gonna make you eat some of this or I won't ever forgive you, you knowwww."**

"**Yes?"**

"**Gah! I hate you…"**

"**Do not, or you wouldn't let me carry you or buy you stuff."**

"**No, that's called taking advantage of you."**

"**Even though I'm still sick, you're taking advantage of me?**

"**Yes. But, you're still sick?"**

"**My fever's still there, yes."**

"**Well, let me down. Can't have the sickly carrying the sickly. Too ironic."**

"**Well, I'd rather be sickly and carrying you around then be sickly and have you pass out on me. Now, hurry up and eat. I didn't pay an additional 1,000 won to buy a portable container for nothing."**

"**Ah, quit complaining. I'm going to pay you back, you know."**

"**Yes?"**

"**Quit that!"**

"**Haha. Okay, okay. But, you won't be paying me back."** Suddenly, he stopped and turned back around. **"Hey, aren't we in the market outside or your apartment complex?"**

"**I-I don't know. Actually, that's a lie, I do know. Are we in the bigger of the four food markets?"**

"**Mhmm."**

"**Then yup."**

"**And, is this your apartment building?"**

"**Yup. That'd be him."**

"**Him?"**

"**Well, I'd rather be sleeping in a guy building than a girl building."**

"**Right. And, you'd rather have a girlfriend instead of a boyfriend?"**

"**Right again."**

After making it back to her apartment, Yunho called up everybody to tell them the adventurous story of their day and that they wouldn't be at practice. Jaejoong offered to come up and help them both, but Yunho refused. After hanging up the phone, Yunho found Lilly with two empty portable bowls.

"**What happened to making me eat some?"**

"**Ah, when I'm hungry, my stomach shuts down my brain and controls my body. After that, I'm unstoppable."**

Yunho shook his head and followed her into the kitchen. **"You sound like Changmin." **He watched her place them into a dish washer and raised a brow. **"You're keeping them?"**

"**Yup, you spent money on them. Oh, here,"** she said, tossing him a couple of pills.

"**What's this?"**

"**Ibuprofen. You allergic?" **Yunho shook his head 'no' and watched as Lilly continued to load dishes into the dishwasher. She had this elegant wife-like way about her when she did it, which made Yunho smile. Lilly looked up from the dishwasher as she put the last dish away and saw him just staring and smiling at her. He could be so weird at times... **"What?"**

"**Oh, nothing. You just looked cute."**

"**Pervert. You get your kicks from just watching me put dishes in the dish washer?"**

"**N-No, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that…I don't know. The way you did it was just cute."**

"**Ah, whatever. Here, take the pills with this."** She handed him a sippy cup with some smoothie in it. **"Jaejoong made it for me earlier."**

"**Ah, the magical ways of Mother Joongie. But, why's it in a sippy cup?"**

"**Well, my 'girlfriend'-"** she emphasized the word, making little quote marks with her fingers, **"only bought sippy cups for me when I sent her out to buy me some kitchen stuff during my training with SM. I'm quite the klutz, and it's the only way Cam Cam feels okay with me being away from home."**

"**Oh, cool."**

"**Yes, **_**very **_**cool," **Lilly laughed, watching Yunho try to take the pills and drink out of the sippy cup at the same time. **"Here, let me help."** He stopped trying to drink out of the cup and looked at Lilly. She took the cup out of his hands and popped the lid off. **"There. Problem solved."**

"**Thanks,"** he smiled. He loved it when a girl helped him with things. It just seemed so…wife-like of Lilly. **"For everything today, I mean."**

"**Don't mention it."** She pushed the 'pots and pans' button on the dishwater and waited for it to turn on, then turned back around to Yunho. **"And um, thanks for standing up to those guys at KFC today. No one really stands up for me anymore besides myself and Cam."**

"'**Don't mention,'"** he quoted her again.

Lilly sighed and looked down at her feet, feeling slightly awkward in such a situation. Back home, she and Lilly had a sort of bond where you didn't have to say 'thank you' or 'you're welcome'. You just did the other a favor and you were happy to do it because you knew they would truly appreciate what you did because that's all they had to be thankful for. And, here lately, the only thing she had to be thankful for was her bed. Training with SM for a year was probably the hardest thing she ever had to do, and that bed in her bedroom was the only thing she had to come home to at night, and for that she was truly thankful.

But, now, she had to actually deal with new people and new situations of which she wasn't accustomed. Could she do ever get used to it?

A sudden embrace snapped her quickly out of her train of thought. Her head was being pressed firmly against Yunho's chest, and his strong arms were wrapped comfortably around her. **"Um…"**

"**Oh, sorry." **He pulled back, but that same quirky smile from earlier still played about his lips. **"You just looked cute standing there."**

"**Yeah, I've been quite cute in the past few minutes, huh?"**

"**Guess so, but that's not my fault,"** he replied before retreating into the living room where he had taken off his shoes.

"**Hey, where do you think you're going?"**

"**Well, Oh Mighty Keeper, I was planning on heading to practice anyways. We were supposed to practice our vocals today as well."**

"**Oh, cool."**

"**Hey, now you're quoting me," **Yunho teased. Lilly responded with a shrug, which Yunho answered to by rolling his eyes. **"By the way, 'love', does Camellia still dance?"**

"**She hasn't stopped. She took over the team when I left, so I'd doubt it. Oh, and when she gets here tonight, it would be best if you didn't call her 'Camellia'. She kind of gets feisty if you call her that…"**

"**Oh, how come?"**

"**Well, her real mom named her that as a joke. She wanted her to be short, and Cam Cam actually is. Believe it or not, she's an inch shorter than me!"**

"_**No way! An inch?**_**"** Yunho remarked sarcastically. **"So, she's about, what….4' 9" than?"**

"**Funny. Veryyy funny. But, I thought Koreans only went by the Metric System. How do you know about the United States Customary Units?"**

"**We do go by the Metris System, normally anyways. Let's just say I have a good round-about knowledge of things. And, dear, there are also the Imperial Units to remember."**

"**Ah, whatever,"** she sighed, smiling slightly. **"'Tomato, tomawto,'"** she said in English. Yunho laughed, so Lilly guessed he understood. He didn't fail to amaze her sometimes.

"**Well, anyways, you got me off-track. I was going to say-" **He paused for a moment as he dug around in his pant pocket, having suddenly remembered something. He pulled out the shirt that Lilly had used to cool his forehead with and handed it to her. **"Well, you should see if Camel-, Cam, would like to become a dancer for us like yourself."**

Lilly's eyes bulged at the sudden suggestion. The two of them…in the same country…together? **"Oh-my-gosh, yes!" ** she managed to spill out, still overwhelmed with his sudden suggestion. **"That would be, wow, so great!"** She jumped up, wrapped her legs around his waist, and gave him a big hug. **"That would be the best thing ever!"**

"**Now, now, hold on a second before you get too happy. Unlike your contract, she may not be able to work for us as long as you do."**

"**I don't care! She's gonna be so excited!"** Lilly yelled happily, but again in English. She couldn't even focus enough to speak Korean right now. She was just too happy.

"**So, I'm going to take your excitement as 'Okay, I'll try to talk her into it?'"**

"**You bet!"** Lilly gave him a quick peck on the cheek before uncoiling her legs and arms from his body. **"I'll have to set-up a surprise party for her and stuff. She'll be so-" **Her body became limp, like something had suddenly came over her.

"**She'll be so…?"**

"**I'm not going to let her do it,"** she muttered, hype fading.

"**What? How come?"**

"**I'm not going to let her go through the same pain I did, the same heartbreak…"**

"**O-Oh, she mentioned that."**

"**Oh, really? What else did she mention? That I'm afraid of clowns? That hospitals, needles and pointy objects scare me? That I used to wet the newspaper when I was little?"**

"**N-Newspaper?"**

"**We didn't have a home, so we slept on newspapers until I was about…12-years old, I think?"**

"**Oh, right. No, she didn't say that. She just said that, since the whole break-up, you've had commitment issues and stuff."**

"**Yeah, that too. By the way, you have six more questions."**

"**Ah, okay****..****. Can I just ask you one more question instead?"**

"**Yeah, sure, take a crack at it."**

"**Okay, well…"**

"**Yes?"**

"**Um...," **Yunho took a slow, deep breath and then looked Lilly straight in the eyes. His words then came out in a low-pitched gush: **"Do you want to be my girlfriend?"** Sadly, at the same time, Lilly's phone began to ring, making Yunho's words inaudible.

"_You rockin' with the best. No stress when ya with me. And the way you wear that dress with the heels; make me wanna see you up out it for real. Meet me by the bar, baby. Let's go get a shot!  
Or meet me by a valet. Let's go get my car, cause we'll be goin' 'zoom, zoom, zoom all the way back to my hotel room. Girl stop actin' like you don't want to. Just reach into ya purse and put my number in ya phone~"_

"**Lills! How's my girlie doin'? How'd it go?"**

"**How did what go, Cam?"**

"**Hey, Lilly. I'm going to head off, okay? You've got my number, right?"** Yunho asked, all of a sudden acting very angsty.

"**Yup, sure do. Be careful, okay?"**

"**Okay, I'll see you later, Lills."**

"**Mkay. See ya, Yunho."** Lilly waited until Yunho had left before continuing to talk to Cam. **"So, what were you saying, Cams?"**

"**How'd it go? Did he ask you his last question yet?"**

"**Um, no. Well, he did, but I couldn't hear him because he said it in a really low-pitch at the same time that my phone rang. Why do you ask?"**

"**No, darn! Go run after him! Man, why do I always mess things up? Run, Lillian, run!"**

"**Is it so important that we have to use real names here?"**

"**HE WAS GOING TO ASK YOU OUT, LILLS!"**

And at that Lilly was running out the door, Cam cheering 'Run, run!' the whole while. He was going to ask her out? _'Way to go, Cams. Just had to call, didn't ya?'_ **"Cam, I can't find him!"**

"**Where did he say he was going? Go wherever he said he was going!" ** Lilly was already outside trying to scout him out through the crowd.

"**The dance studio?"**__Lilly paused and took a look across the street. There making his way up the sidewalk opposite of her was Mr. Prince Charming.** "Shoot, now I see him! Yunho, wait!"** Lilly yelled out.

He turned around immediately at the sound of her voice. She started running towards him, but didn't realize that she was running across the road. A truck was coming at too-fast of a speed to see her dart out onto the road, and Yunho tried to yell out to warn her. **"LILLY, STOP!" ** He started running towards her, trying to make it to her in time before the truck did. She wasn't that far away and, if he willed every part of his body to move fast enough, he could possibly reach her in time. Making it to the edge of sidewalk, Yunho flung himself across the road. At the rate the truck was going, one of them was going to have to get hit, if not the both of them. Bu at that moment the only person Yunho saw was Lilly. Earlier today, Yunho hadn't even cared about this girl's existence, and now he was jumping in front of trucks and risking his life to save hers. Boy, what a day this had turned out to be...

With the truck within a mere foot of their bodies, Yunho managed to grab on to Lilly's arm and push her back with whatever force he could muster. He continued in the same direction as he had been going in, but at a slower pace because of the energy he had used to push Lilly away. Yunho had had many near-death experiences in his life, but none that he purposely chose to experience. All the ones before he would have never chosen to re-live, but this one he would do a thousand-times over if Lilly would always be safe in the end. Lilly was indeed safe now, watching him in horror from the sidewalk she had been pushed down on, tears streaming from her eyes, as the truck came to hit him. The last thing he saw was her eyes. Those pretty jade eyes were now suddenly the reason that he lived and breathed, the reason now that he risked his life for.

People walking along the road gasped in terror, seeing the scene unfold before them. The truck whizzed by and the people watching gasped again at the sight that lay before them…

[[Cliffhanger! Haha. xDD Will Yunho survive? Will Cam decide to dance for TVXQ? Will Yoochun finally decide to start wearing socks again? Find out in the next chapter of "I'm A Good Excuse to Be a Bad Influence on You"!]]


	5. Chapter 5: Ice cream and kids?

[[I hope you like this one! It took forever to finally type it up, so I'm sorry you had to wait so long for it! Messages are always loved, and thanks for all the support!]]

People walking along the road gasped in terror after seeing the scene that was unfolding before them. A good 65% of the earth's population will never see an accidental death of a person. The people on the street of Seoul luckily remain within that 65%.  
Astonishingly, Yunho (after pushing Lilly out of the way) had managed to roll out of the path of the truck before it hit him, having stopped rolling within mere centimeters of the truck's tires. The man driving the truck came to an abrupt stop a few feet away from Yunho's body and ran over to Lilly and Yunho.  
**"Did you even think about where you were running?"** the man shouted at Lilly.  
**"I-I'm sorry, sir. I was just trying…Yunho…"  
"Oh, you're one of those crazy fans, huh?"  
"No, she's not,"** grunted Yunho, forcing himself to stand up.  
**"Ah, Yunho-!"  
"It's okay, Lilly. Sir, thank you for being concerned, but Lilly isn't the one at fault here."  
"Excuse me?"  
"See, the speed limit is 15 MPH. You were easily doing 35 MPH, if not 55. If you had been going slower, Lilly could have easily made it to the other side of the street. Plus, this is clearly a crowded place, so going as fast as you were in such a place isn't fathomable."  
**The man blinked once and then looked down. **"I guess I was going a bit too fast. My apologies, Yunho-ssi."  
"Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one you could've hurt."  
"No, no. It's okay. It really is my fault,"** Lilly said softly. **"I should've seen him coming."  
"Ah, I have to get going. I'm blocking the street."** The man turned and called over his shoulder, **"My apologies!"**

"**The nerve of some people…"  
"Yunho, are you okay?"** Lilly turned Yunho to face her so she could look him over.  
**"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I'll be sore tomorrow for sure, but I'm fine now."  
"I'm...I'm sorry. I-"**  
Yunho placed a finger on her lips. **"Shh. Everything's okay. Now, what was the point in this failed suicide attempt of yours?"  
**Lilly chuckled slightly. **"What were you trying to say? You know, before you left?"  
"Oh, um…"** Yunho looked around at all the people watching them. **"Ah, it doesn't matter now. What does matter now is that you're not harmed, and I'm presuming well-enough to go to dance practice."  
"Yes, of course."** Lilly rose a brow.  
**"What?"  
"She told me."  
"W-Who told you?"  
"Don't play dumb! Cam told me."  
**Yunho turned away quickly to hide his blush and started to walk off. **"I don't know who you're talking about."  
"Yunho, you do so!"** Lilly followed behind him and started to sing out: _**"You know you wannnt me. You know you neeeeed me."**_She grabbed his arm and made him turn around again, seeing the blush on his cheeks. _**"**_**Yunho, you like me, right?"  
"Well, of course I like you. I don't jump in front of trucks for anybody…"  
"And?"  
"You're not going to let this go, are you?"  
"Nope,"** she replied, smiling. **"Annnd?"  
"And, we're late for practice. Come on."**

He grabbed her hand in his and pulled her along. She was going to pretend to be angry at him for dismissing her taunts so easily, but how could she now? His hands felt soft-but-strong, like a comforting embrace…

"**Ah, Yunho-ah! Lilly-ssi!"** Junsu cried out, seeing the two enter the dance studio. **"Lilly-ssi, I haven't been able to talk to you! Yunnie keeps hogging you!"** he whined, pulling Lilly away.  
**"Then I'm all yours."** Lilly turned back to wave at Yunho, but found that he wasn't there.  
**"Since we've got a couple minutes, I'm going to show you the arcade room! Can you sing?"  
"Sort of, why?"  
"We've got a karaoke machine…"**

**  
"Yoochun-ah, what should I do?"  
"Well, based on what you just told me, I can tell you this: I wouldn't ask her out. At least, not right now."  
"Huh? Why not now?"  
"Well, I'm afraid you're not the only one who likes her, hyung."  
"Y-You? You like her?"  
"No, no. Though, she is cute… But no, it's not me."  
"Ah…then who?"  
"I can't say. Just…promise me you'll wait. There's no sense in just rushing everything."  
"So, if you were in my position, you would just wait?"  
"What? No, never. You do know me, right? As soon as I see a girl that I find attractive-"  
"Yeah, I know. You give her the 'stare', and if she responds-"  
"That's when I lay it on her. But, don't lay anything on Lilly-ssi. At least, not right now. You remember what happened last time, right? I don't want you to get hurt again, hyung…"**

"Why…why's he staring at me like that, Junsu?"  
"Ah, hyung? He's just weird."  
In the arcade room, Jaejoong was sitting on a sofa next to the karaoke machine. His eyes seemed focused on Lilly's face, like he was trying to see something that he couldn't. In reality, Jaejoong wasn't a morning person at all, and he wasn't an afternoon person either, especially if he hadn't had any food. He had gone out to eat with the other members earlier, but he was so upset about not getting to eat with Lilly that he refused to eat. He regretted doing that now.

"**Jaejoong? Are you okay?"** Lilly waved her hand in front of his face, hoping for a response. He blinked twice in response to the sudden movement, but his eyelids quickly drooped down to hide his pretty black orbs again. **"Aw, he's sleepy! But, it's the afternoon, right? Why's he so sleepy?"**

"**Ah, hyung gets sleepy when he doesn't eat sometimes. When we went out to eat for lunch, he was all gloomy and wouldn't eat. Weird hyung."**

While Lilly and Junsu were talking, Jaejoong's now-sleeping-body had managed to slump over sideways to lay on the sofa, head resting on the armrest.

"**Um, Lilly-ssi, you might not want to see him sleeping."  
"Oh, why?"  
"Well, he tends to make funny expressions while he's-"** Suddenly, Jaejoong's lips turned into a very big pout. **"-sleeping, just like that. If it scares you, we'll just leave."  
"Hah! Why would it scare me? He looks adorable." **Junsu shook his head and snorted.  
**"Girls these days… Come on, Lilly-ssi. I didn't bring you in here so you could ogle over Joongie."  
"Okay, okay. And call me Lilly!"  
**  
After a few more minutes of chatting with Yoochun, Yunho decided to seek out Changmin's advice. When it came to girls, Yoochun and Changmin were both more of the player-types compared to himself, but Yunho had always felt like Changmin could see the better side of any situation, and that's what he needed right now. Plus, … One of the most beautiful singing voices he'd ever heard suddenly carved through his thoughts. He was passing by the arcade room, and "Love" by Keyshia Cole was playing.

"_**Oh,love~! Never knew what I was missin', but I knew once we start kissin' I found love. Never knew what I was missin', but I knew once we start kissin' I found found you-ou-ou-ou."**__**  
**_**"Ah, that was pretty, Lilly-ssi."  
"It's 'Lih-lee'. There's no 'ssi' too it."  
**Yunho opened up the door, eyes near the point of bulging out of his skull. **"That came from Lilly?"  
"Um, yeah? Was it that horrible?"  
"It was great, Lilly! You even managed to wake Jaejoong-hyung up."** Junsu pointed at Jaejoong, a smile still on his lips.  
**"Yeah, Lilly, it was…phenomenal."** Jaejoong was wide-awake, looking attentively at Lilly.  
**"Seriously, it wasn't that great. I just sang like I normally do. There's nothing really special about it."****  
****"You're kidding, right? I've never heard anyone sing like that!"** Yunho's eyes had stopped bulging, but a look of astonishment still played about his face. **"Does SM know you can sing?"  
"No, no! I don't want to sing! I'm horrible at it. Besides, I'm better at dancing."  
"Your dancing may be good,"** Jaejoong added, **"but it's **_**nothing**_** compared to your voice. We couldn't even understand what you were singing, but it sounded…I can't even describe how it sounded."  
"Seriously, it wasn't that great…"** Lilly walked out of the room, followed by Yunho.  
**"Have you ever even heard your voice? Has it ever been recorded for you to hear?"  
"No, and I don't want it to! Yunho, please just let this go."  
"You wouldn't let go of what I was going to say earlier."  
**Lilly stopped walking and turned around to face to Yunho. **"Listen. If I wanted to be a singer, I would have tried out to be a singer, but I didn't. I absolutely love dancing, and that's what I want to do."  
"But do you enjoy singing, too? Even if it's just for fun?"  
"Well, yes, I guess I do."  
"Then can we at least record your voice so you can hear? Please, just give me that. **_**Please**_**."  
**Lilly sighed. She wasn't ever going to win any argument against him, was she?  
**"I'm going to take that as a yes."** He smiled and kissed her forehead. **"You're going to love me for doing this one day."  
"Yeah, **_**one**_** day."  
**Yunho's eyes softened, clearly showing that he was hurt. Lilly's eyes softened too, realizing her mistake.  
**"Yunho, I didn't mean it like that."  
"No, it's…." **he took a deep breath and looked away from her. **"It's okay, Lilly."** He looked down at the ground hard, as if he was trying to burn a hole in the ground with his eyes so he could jump in it to get away from her. **"I've got to go to practice. We decided to have a vocal rehearsal instead, so you can go home or whatever. Just try not to kill yourself again."** He brushed past her and started walking down the hallway before he stopped suddenly. **"We've sent a car to pick up Camellia, and we'll be meeting early at the ice cream shop at around 6 or so because her flight is arriving sooner than expected,"** he said softly, never turning around.  
**"Yunho, I'm sor-"  
"I said it's okay, Lills. Go on home and get ready or something. It's about 4 PM or something, and she should arrive at your house in half-an-hour or so."** And with that he left, leaving Lilly all y herself.

'Why did I say that? Of all the things I could've said!' Lilly whipped out her cell phone and held in the '1', calling Cam through her speed dial. **"Cam, where are you?"  
"I'm almost at your apartment! I should be there in 15 minutes or so. Guess what? They sent a limo! A LIMO!"  
"That's great, Cams…"  
"Ah, what's wrong with my wifey?"  
"C…Cams..."****  
****"Now, don't you cry on me! I've had enough crying in my day today. I don't your tears in it too. At least, wait until I get to your apartment before you break down on me."  
"O-Okay."  
"Where are you right now?"  
"I'm outside now, heading back to my apartment."  
"So it didn't go well?"  
"Just get here, Cams."** Lilly snapped the phone shut, hot tears running down her cheeks. She could feel the hole inside her that her last boyfriend made open back up again, pain searing through her body. She didn't feel like moving on anymore. She hurt everyone she loved because of her stupid mistakes. Everything she did was wrong; everything she did…  
_**"Now you're gone, what am I gonna do? So empty…my heart, my soul. Can't go on, go on without you. My rainy days fade away when you come around. Please tell me baby, why you go so far away? Why you go..."**_  
She managed to reach the inside of her apartment's elevator before completely breaking down. Tears rolled down her cheeks, her chest heaved and shuttered with her sobs. Why couldn't she forget him? Why was…why was Yunho _so_ much like him?!? The elevator's doors opened up to her floor, and right outside stood Camellia.  
**"Cam? How'd you-"  
"When your girl needs you, you find a way to get there."** Lilly ran into her friends embrace, and they both went into her apartment.

Cam laid on the floor, while Lilly laid on the bed.  
**"Wow, they really are similar. And he said the exact same thing that Chance used to say?"  
"'It's okay, Lilly.' 'I said it's okay, Lills.'"** Lilly's body shuddered, pain still throbbing throughout her being.  
**"And that hole in your stomach? How's the pain?"  
"Horrible."  
"Well, you're going to have to tough it out. They don't make pain medicine for imaginary gaping holes…"  
"It's not imaginary! It..."  
"I know, I know."  
"Don't say the word 'know'! Don't ever say it…"  
"Because it sounds like U-Know? Hun, you've only known the boy for the day. Why are you rushing things so much?"  
"I'm not! It's just rushing by itself…"  
"Well, come on, it's 5:00. We've got to get dressed."** Cam pushed herself off the floor and looked over at Lilly's closet. **"Hey, Lilly, do you want to get back at him?"  
"W-What do you mean?"  
"We've got an hour, right? How about I fix you up into the prettiest thing ever?"  
"Again, what do you mean?"  
"Hahahaaaa."  
"The Cam laugh! It must be something torturous."  
**Cam smiled and pulled Lilly off of the bed and onto the chair in front of her make-up mirror.  
**"A forty-five minute makeover! If he wants to start poking holes in you, he's gonna have to see what he's poking a hole through."  
"You're retarded…"**

By 6:05, Yunho and Jaejoong had managed to barely make it to the ice cream place. The two entered the building in a hurry, both too eager to manage to collect themselves.  
**"Jaejoong, do you see them?"  
"Y-Y-…wow."  
**Yunho turned in the direction of Jaejoong's stare, and his heart wretched in his chest. Beside a blond-headed girl sat a girl he almost couldn't recognize. She had dark brown hair and green eyes, much like Lilly's, but she just looked…different. Her hair was down and curly, and her eye makeup really made her eyes standout. He hadn't even seen her with makeup on before, and she looked completely different. Her outfit was really cute too; two layered tank tops (the bottom one white and with lace, the top one a bright yellow and without lace) , a pearl necklace, and a black knitted, hooded sweater left unbuttoned, paired off with faded skinny jeans and a pair of bright yellow high-top sneakers.

Yunho hesitated when Jaejoong walked over to the table. Before they had left practice, Yunho had managed to get Yoochun to tell him who his competition was.  
'_"Yoochun! Please, I need to know! Why would I get hurt again? Who is it?!"  
"You already know…"  
"But…why would he do this again?"  
"It's hard to control your feelings, hyung. You can't help who you feel attracted too."  
"But why her?"  
"He can't help it. You both have similar tastes. Why is it such a big deal right now, anyways?"  
"We're both going out to eat with her later…"'___

Yunho managed to find his way to the table despite his flashback, and snapped back into reality when he realized two pairs of green eyes were staring at him. **"Ah, C-Camellia-ssi, it's nice to meet you."  
"It's Cam,"** she said flatly, not letting her gaze leave his. **"And Jaejoong-ssi, it's nice to meet you too."**

"Ah, please, just call us by our names without the honorifics. Formality is good and all, but it gets in the way of a decent conversation."  
"I like the way _**this**_** one thinks, Lilly,"** Cam teased. She didn't want to be mean to Yunho, especially after also hearing about his break up story earlier on today, but she loved her wifey more than she did him. He'd just have to stick it out.  
**"We went ahead and ordered for you, Yunnie. You seemed to be in a trance over there,"** Jaejoong also teased.  
**"Oh, thank you,"** he replied oblivious to their games. **"Um, Lilly, you look...amazing."  
"Ah, thank you."** Lilly averted her eyes from his to avoid eye contact with him, focusing on something behind his head. Cam stomped on her foot, forcing her to look back around.  
"**Oh, Lilly, are you ok?"** Jaejoong was trying to suppress a laugh, obviously already knowing what was wrong with Lilly.  
**"Just peachy,"** she muttered and rubbed her feet together.

Besides a bit of idle chit-chat between Jaejoong and Cam, Yunho and Lilly refusing to speak and random foot stomping between Cam and Lilly, nothing really happened during their ice cream 'date' until they got their ice cream.

**"It's about time,"** Cam muttered, receiving a foot-stomp from Lilly.

Lilly and Cam had both ordered Superman Hot Fudge Sundaes with chocolate chips on top, Jaejoong got a plain white ice cream cone, and Jaejoong ordered Yunho a Cookie Dough blast, which was just Cookie Dough ice cream in a good-sized bowl.

**"You both have funny tastes,"** Yunho mentioned, making Jaejoong chuckle.

**"Lilly was the first out of the two of us to ever try this combination when we were little and made me tried it. It's really good."**

"It's…different, and in a weird way," Yunho muttered, causing Lilly to frown.

**"Here." **Lilly took a scoop of her sundae and held it up to Yunho's mouth. **"Go 'ahhh'."**

Yunho made a funny face at her, but complied anyway. He opened up his mouth and she popped her spoon in. Yunho sucked the ice cream off the spoon and closed his eyes. The ice cream did taste great, but she tasted so much better. He opened his mouth to give her back the spoon and then opened his eyes. **"That was actually pretty tasty."**

"**I bet it was,"** Cam muttered and then received another foot-stomp from Lilly.

"**Oh, Cam, has Lilly mentioned anything to you about my proposition?"  
"Hmm, which one?"  
"Cams! No, I haven't had time to mention it to her."  
"Fine, I will. Cam, would you like to dance for us?"  
"Right now?"  
"No, he meant to ask if you would like to be a dancer for them. You know, like I am."  
"Oh! That would be great! But…what about our crew, Lills?"  
"Our crew? Aren't you worried about your-"  
"He broke up with me, Lills. I didn't want to tell you because, well, because of your 'hole'."**  
Jaejoong began to choke on ice cream. **"Excuse me? Her hole?"  
"Not literally. Ever since Chance-"  
"Blahblahblahblahblah. I don't wanna hear it!"****  
****"Fine. She just has an 'imaginary' hole, and every time memories about him come back, or someone breaks her heart in some way, she actually feels pain throughout her whole body. Yunho, here, hasn't been helping much."  
**This time, it was Yunho's turn to be surprised. **"Excuse me?"  
"Cam, don't!"  
"'It's okay, Lilly.' 'I said it's okay, Lills.'"** Cam quoted. Lilly's body shuddered as she hunched forward and gripped her stomach, eyes closing tight from the pain.  
**"Camellia, please stop!"** Lilly begged, wincing slightly.  
**"I'm sorry, Lilly, but I had to tell him. I mean, look at you."** All eyes went towards Lilly, who still hunched over the table.  
**"I'm…sorry, Lilly. I didn't know that he said that. I was just…"** Yunho's voice faded as he looked Lilly over again. No matter what he said, he couldn't possibly make this better. **"I'm so sorry, Lilly."  
"It's okay, Yunho,"** Lilly managed to say as she forced herself into a sitting position. **"Do you know how many times I had to hear that? I kept trying to explain to him, tried to make it make some sort of sense to him, but do you know how impossible that is? 'Hey, I'm going to move to South Korea so I can be a dancer. See you in…oh, ten or so years!' What was I supposed to say to make it better? What? And, all he ever said was, 'It's okay, Lilly.' 'I said it's okay, Lills.' When you say something's okay, it's supposed to be okay, right? Then, how some it's…it's not okay?"** Lilly lowered her voice, now realizing that she had the eye of everyone in the restaurant. She stood up and went to leave, but Yunho grabbed her hand.  
**"Lills,"** he stood up and pulled her into a hug as she started to cry.  
**"Hey, what're you guys looking at? Eat your ice cream!"** Cam yelled to all the people, who quickly looked away out of embarrassment.  
**"It really is okay, Lilly. I just…"  
"I took away his last girlfriend,"** finished Jaejoong, now also standing up. **"We had a new dancer a year ago and we both ended up falling in love with her, but right before she was forced to quit-"  
"She chose Jaejoong over Yunho,"** Cam added, smiling to herself. Lilly rose a brow as if to ask how she knew, but Cam just rolled her eyes.  
**"Yunho didn't get mad at me though. He just said that was her own choice, and he'd have to live with it. But, SM fired her in fear that she would manage to separate us because apparently she had done the same thing before with the last group she danced for."  
"You're so much like her, Lilly, except you don't kiss Jaejoong **_**in front**_** of me." **  
Lilly's eye grew wide, and Yunho just shook his head.  
**"Do I seem that dense? What else would the two of you be doing alone in her apartment together?"  
"Playing video games and making cupcakes,"** Cam chimed in. The two guys gave her a strange look, and Lilly chuckled.  
**"That's what Cam and I do when we're alone."  
"For the most part,"** Cam added, sending a wink towards the two boys before also standing up. She threw her cup away and headed out the door. The others followed suit and found themselves outside in the cold December air. **"Oh, are we having a Christmas party tonight?"  
"Oh, if you want to, I guess."  
"Since today's Christmas Eve, probably." **Suddenly, Lilly's cell phone started ringing.  
'Now, when you take me by the hand, who's ever gonna know? Everytime ya move I let a little more show. That's somethin' we can use, so don't say no, Mickey! So come on and give it to me any way you can. Any way you wanna do it, I'll take it like a man. Oh please, baby. Please, baby. Don't leave me Mickey!'  
**"H-Hey, Yoochun."** Cam started bursting out laughing while the guys shook their heads in shame.  
**"Haha. Lillian, how are things?"  
"Hey, how come this Yoochun fellow gets to call you Lillian?"** interjected Cam.  
**"With a voice like his, he can call me anything he wants."** Lilly held in the speakerphone button so Cam could hear him.  
**"Everything's okay here right now. How are things with you? Oh, and you're on speakerphone."  
"Ah, everything's good here as well."** Cam swooned. She always loved men with deep, husky voices. **"Why am I on speakerphone?"  
"I wanted Cam to hear your voice."  
"Ah, I'll send a 'hello' to Cam, then."  
"And hello to you too. Your voice sounds amazing."  
"And so does yours. How old are you?"  
"Micky, not today,"** Yunho scolded. **"You're making your hyung disappointed."  
"Ah, sorry hyung. You know I can't help it at times."****  
****"Anyways!"** Lilly interrupted. **"Get everybody over to my apartment. We're having a party! Tell Minnie to bring that video game he was going to let me borrow."  
"I have it right here!"** called Changmin from a ways off.  
**"Ah, could you hear that?"  
"Yes, he said he had it there with him."  
"Then, I hope you can hear me say I love you!"** Junsu screamed.  
**"She can hear you!"** Jaejoong and Yunho screamed back in unison.  
**"Alright, alright. Love you too, Junsu!"  
"We'll see you later,"** Yoochun added before hanging up the phone.  
**"Wow, he's so suave,"** cooed Cam. **  
****"Swab?" **Jaejoong asked.**  
****"No, no. Suave! It's like, charismatic, but just a shorter way to say it."  
"Ah, we'll have to tell Junsu. He'll want to be suave."** Yunho chuckled and looked up at the sky. **"Wow, look at that. Is there supposed to be a meteor shower tonight?"  
"No, I don't think so."** Lilly looked up at the sky, too. Meteors were stripping across the atmosphere from left to right.  
_'I wish for everything to work out.'  
'I wish that Lilly will be happy.'  
'I wish that I could forget.'  
'I wish that I could forgive…'_

After having a fun party, Lilly and Cam decided to watch a few movies that Cam brought from the USA.  
**"What's this? 'Saw'?"  
"I know you don't like scary movies, but you'll love this one!"  
"Why, is it not that scary?"  
"Noooo, it's **_**really**_** freaky!"  
"Cammie!"****  
****"Come on, it can't be that bad,"** Yunho urged.  
**"Hey, I thought we sent you guys home?"  
"Cam asked us to stay. Well, Changmin and Junsu planned on leaving anyway, but Jaejoong fell asleep so Changmin took him home too." **

Suddenly, a knock came from the door. **"I'll get it,"** Lilly called, already heading towards the door.  
**"Hey, how can I help you?" **A little girl about the age of 6 stood at the door**  
****"Hey, Miss. My name is ****Eunae, and I'm collecting money for, um, for…"** Eunae paused and looked down at the ground ashamedly, tears starting to brim in her eyes.  
**"Ah, come in here for a bit and let me see what I can find." **Lilly ushered the child inside and went into her kitchen. Yunho and Yoochun peered over the sofa, while Cam continued to watch the TV.  
**"Are you hungry, Eunae? We had a party earlier and have a lot of leftovers."  
"Oh, Miss, are you sure? I mean, you shouldn't even be giving me stuff…" **Eunae's stomach started to growl and Lilly's eyes softened.  
**"Eunae, I hope you don't mind me asking, but who sent you up here?"  
"Wha-! How'd you know?"  
"Please, who sent you up here?"  
"N-Nobody did!"  
"Okay, okay. What were you collecting money for again?"  
"Oh…"  
"I should be asking for 'whom', shouldn't I? Eunae, who sent you here?"  
"M-My sister…"  
"And where is she right now?"  
"Back home. She said go around to all the apartments and not to come back until I'd collected about 278,000 won…"  
"Does she ever make rounds with you?"  
"How'd you know she calls them rounds? And no, she just stays home with her boyfriend."  
"You don't have any parents, do you, Eunae?" **By this time, Yunho had made his way into the kitchen, and the sudden sight of him caused Eunae to start crying. He picked her up in his arms and hugged her softly.  
**"Shhh, now. It's all okay."** Her crying softened to quiet, little sobs as he continued to soothe her. The sight practically made Lilly's heart stop from the pain it caused her. He was good with children, too? **"Do you ever go to school, Eunae?"  
"N-No, not since my parents went away."  
"How did they go away, Eunae?"** Lilly asked, already feeling like she had common ground with the kid.  
**"Well, they used to play doctor a lot."** Lilly's eyes grew larger. **"My sister and her boyfriend do too, now. They even try to make me play, but end up not letting me."  
"They…they try to make you play doctor with them?"** Lilly was close to hyperventilating. It took Yunho a few seconds to realize why, and when he did he sat Eunae on the counter and hugged Lilly around the waist.  
** "Yeah, but they never actually let me play. They let me hold the shooters for them, though."**  
A tear rolled down Lilly's cheeks. How many times would she have to cry today? She glanced over her shoulder at Yunho, who looked down concernedly at her. He looked like he was about to cry too, so Lilly looked away towards Cam and Yoochun who were now for some reason snuggled up together watching the weather channel. She looked about, suddenly aware that the girl was still talking.  
**"…but one day, when the bus dropped me off, my mommy and daddy weren't home, but Sis was. She said they'd played doctor too much and started crying. That was a year ago I think, when Sis was still in High School."  
"Oh?"  
** **"She started playing doctor for a while, and then told me she was quitting school 'cause she couldn't play doctor as much as she wanted."** Eunae stopped to cough a little, and that was the first time Lilly realized the child didn't even have a coat. **"So, I stopped school too because she said she couldn't play doctor if she didn't have money, and I said 'Can't you work like Mommy and Daddy used to?' and she said she couldn't, but I could. So, she sends me to collect money and stuff for her so she can buy stuff to play doctor. I hate that doctor game now, though. Oh, they play a new game too now, and I can't play that game either. They pretend they're wrestlers and-"  
"That's okay, Eunae. We get it,"** Yunho interrupted, a bit shocked at how the story was turning out. **"Eunae, can you wait here for a sec?"  
"Yup."** Yunho pulled Lilly into her bedroom and shut the door. Lilly broke down and her chest started to heave. Yunho hugged her tightly to help her keep in control.  
**"How can this..suddenly.."  
"I know, I know, but I think she was sent to us for a reason."  
"What…what do you mean?"  
"She's so much similar to you childhood-wise, and she's so mature for her age. And, she's soo cute."  
"Yunho!"  
"I think we should adopt her or something, or at least help get her out of that house."  
"A-Adopt? WE? Doesn't marriage come first or something?"  
"Oh yeah, I knew I forgot something,"** he retorted sarcastically. **"But, you know I'm right."  
"I've only known you for a day, and you want to adopt with me?! Are you insane?"  
"I've only known you for a day, but I feel like I've known you my whole life. I feel like I've loved you my whole life."  
"Yunho…" **Her sentence trailed off as his face took up most of the space around hers. **"Do you really want to adopt her, with me? Won't that cause some sort of…" ** He brought his lips to skim the surface of her flesh along her jaw line, traveling up to her earlobe… **"Are you…trying to persuade me?"  
"Mmm, is it working?"  
"Almost. Cam told you abou-"** She didn't finish her sentence, realizing that her girlfriend had once again ratted out one of her secrets.  
He ran his tongue lightly over the bit of skin behind her ear and began to kiss it softly then paused for a moment. **"And does this do it?" **She nodded weakly and he smiled. **"Well then, I'll call our manager up and arrange for the papers to be drawn up." **He started to kiss her in the same spot as he did before, but this time she managed up the strength to push him away.  
**"Unless you're trying to get something else out of me, kissing me there any longer won't result in anything good."  
"What if I don't want to do anything good…"  
"Yunho!"  
"I'm kidding! Only kidding…unless…"  
"How much did you drink?"  
"I don't know. How much is left?"  
"Yunho!"  
"Still only kidding. I didn't drink any, actually. I'm just intoxicated by your presence."  
"Psshh, let's go."  
"Aw, come on. It was just getting good!"  
"Sure, sure. Thanks for cheering me up."** She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. **"But, are we really going to adopt Eunae?"****  
****"Well, why not? You can help her have the childhood you never had, we can have a child together…"** He went to kiss her neck again.  
**"Yunho, focus, please!"  
"Right. Plus, she has a beautiful name. Do you know what 'eunae' means?"  
"No? Should I?"  
"Long-lasting love."  
"Darn. Her name sounds pretty and means something pretty too."  
"So, it's a 'yes'?"  
"Sure, sure."  
"You're going to adopt a child by saying 'Sure, sure'?"  
"Sure?"**

"Are you guys married?"  
"Nooo, are you?"  
"Nooo," Eunae said, mimicking Yoochun for the umpteenth time since Yunho and Lilly disappeared.  
**"Say, Eunae, do you like scary movies?"  
"Yeahhhh. I saw one once about a guy who ate people!"  
"And you like that kind of stuff?"** Yoochun asked. He personally hated horror movies, and a 6-year old who liked watching guys eat people was a horror movie in herself.  
**"Nooo, I just thought he looked funny."  
"Ah, so you just like movies with funny-looking people in it?"  
"Yup-yup." **Eunae's head snapped towards the kitchen where her name was suddenly being shouted.  
**"Where'd she go? Eunae, where are you?!"** Lilly was running around in circles, looking here and there for the child.  
**"Here I am!"** Eunae shouted back, popping out from behind the doorway. Yunho picked her up like he did earlier, but turned her to face Lilly.  
**"I have something to ask you now, Eunae, okay? Do you have any relatives that could take care of you?"  
"Relatives? What are relatives?"  
"Like, family or something. Or, do you have a grandparent?"  
"Oh, we used to go to my grandma's around this time a year when I was reallllly little, but one day we went to see her when she was lying down and stuff. It was weird."  
"Dang, that girl's a tragedy,"** Yoochun muttered.  
**"Be quite, you," **Cam grunted, punching his arm lightly.  
**"Ah, well, would you consider coming to live with me?"  
"I don't even know your name."  
"Oh, sorry! Right, well, my name is Lillian Monique, but you can just call me Lilly."  
"Kay."  
"And my name is Jung Yunho. If you'd want us too, we'd both adopt you."  
**Yoochun started gagging on the popcorn he had been eating, and Cam fell completely off of the sofa.  
**"Adopt me? What about my sis?"  
"Ah, she would stay at home because she doesn't need anyone taking care of her, but you need someone to take good care of you. Someone who doesn't play doctor or wrestles all the time…"  
"No, wrestling's okay!"** Cam called.  
**"Shut up!"** The arguing caused Eunae to giggle loudly, making Lilly smile. **"Please, Eunae. Would you like us to…to be your new parents?"  
"But I have parents."  
"Well, yes, but we'd be your new parents sort of. Or, if you'd like, we could be your big brother and big sister,"** Yunho pitched in.  
**"Oh, sure! But, I'd rather you be my new parents. I don't need any more sisters or brothers."**  
Yunho laughed and kissed the top of her head.  
**"Great! I'll call the manager up and have it arranged. We can enroll her into school until… Oh."  
"Oh?"  
"What happens when we're on tour?"  
"Um…we'll take her with us?"  
"Are you sure? It'll be a lot of hassle for you."  
"Yeah, it's fine. And I can teach her Korean **_**and**_** English so I can communicate with her better."  
"No, we'll hire a teacher for the school stuff, but you can teach her English."  
"Getting a bit possessive already, aren't we?"** Lillywinked at Yunho then ruffled up the top of Eunae's pretty black hair. **"Her hair's so pretty."  
"Mhmm. And her eyes, too."  
"I think she has your eyes,"** Lilly teased.  
**"Hm, really? I think she has your jaw line."  
"Yeah, you should know about that since you've become so accustomed to it lately."** Lilly sent death glares over to Cam.  
**"Ah, Lilly, we've forgotten someone."  
"Hm? Who?"  
"Jaejoong."****  
**Ah, how could she forget ole Pretty Face? So much had happened today. Somehow, she'd managed to make two guys fall in love with her, almost kill one of them and also adopt a child with the latter all within the same day. What was tomorrow going to be like? And, how was Jaejoong going to take this? **"So, are we going to watch this stupid movie or not?"** Cam called breaking her concentration.  
**"Movie, movie!"  
"CAM! I'm not letting my daughter watch a horror movie!" **Yunho smiled proudly, but walked over to the couch anyway. **"And where do you think you're going with my child?"  
"Well, new-Wife-of-mine, she's about to fall asleep anyways. Strike that, she's already fallen asleep. Come on, a little fear makes a person stronger."  
"Uggh."  
"Hey, she's my wife! Find your own," **Cam retorted.  
**"Shhh! You'll wake Eunae up! Besides, I can always go polygamistic,"** Lilly hissed while stroking Eunae's hair as she sat down next to Yunho.  
**  
**By the end of the movie, Lilly had managed to wiggle her way into Yunho's arms several times to avoid the scary scenes in front of her while Yoochun did the same with Cam.  
**"Cams, I think you've found a new wife."  
"Be quite, you."****  
**Yoochun stood up and stretched. **"Ah, I'm gonna call it a night. Hyung, are you coming? I drank a little, so I don't want to drive myself home."  
"Yeah, just give me a second. Eunae, will you miss me?"  
**Her eyes fluttered open slowly and she yawned. **"Appa's leaving **(아빠, or 'appa', means dad. 3) **?"  
**Yunho smiled and put her down on her feet. He hadn't let go of her since picking her up earlier, and it made him feel slightly empty to let her go now.  
**"I have to, but I can stay all night with you tomorrow if you'd like,"** he teased and winked at Lilly. **"Would you like that?"  
"Oh, yes!"  
**He grinned and kissed her softly on the cheek before turning to do the same to Lilly's lips.  
**"Come on, you lovebird. You know how grumpy I can get."  
"Alright, alright, I'm coming." **He patted Eunae's head and kissed Lilly again on the cheek.  
**"Take care of her tonight, alright? I'll bring presents in the morning."  
"Oh, I forgot about Christmas!"  
**He laughed and followed Yoochun out of the door.  
**"Forgetting about Jaejoong, are we?"  
"Sort of…"  
"That's a shame. He bought you a nice Christmas present, too."  
"H-He did?"  
"Yeah. He noticed how much you like bright colors so… Well, you'll just have to wait."  
"Darn. Ah, it's a good thing I bought them all presents earlier."  
"Oh, you did? What'd you get them?"  
"'Well, you'll just have to wait',"** Lilly mocked.  
**"What did you get me?"** Eunae squeaked  
**"Appa's bringing it tomorrow. You'll love it!"  
"Really?"  
"I hope so,"** Lilly laughed, pulling Eunae onto her back. **"Come on, Squirt. Time for bed."**


	6. Chapter 6: Breathing, Smiling, Thinking

**-8:00 AM. At the dance studio.-**

"**Appa! Appa!" **Eunae cried. She jumped into Yunho's arms, and he spun her around until Lilly forced him to stop.  
**"Don't make her too dizzy,"** Lilly ordered and seized the child into her own arms.  
**"I wasn'tttt," **Yunho whined. He tried to grab her back, but Lilly kept dodging him by moving backwards. She ran a few more steps backwards until she hit somebody and spun around to see who it was, but when she did she almost let go Eunae.  
**"Wow, Jaejoong-ssi…"** she whispered. He was dressed in a plain v-neck tee and stylish dark jeans with a pair of black Nike sneakers and thick, black-rimmed glasses to match. (If you've ever seen him glasses before, you know what kind of glasses I'm talking about. ;) ) Jaejoong was a few inches away from her, breathing, smiling, thinking…  
**"Who's that cute, little kid?" ** Jaejoong asked, pointing out a finger towards the child. The hand that was pointing held a small, white gift bag that immediately caught everyone's eye. Everyone's except Lilly, that is.  
**"It's our….new friend, Eunae. We're thinking about adopting her…"** Lily answered dazedly. She was still flabbergasted by how amazing Jaejoong looked in glasses.  
**"We?" **Jaejoong stammered and immediately looked at Yunho. **"We need to talk. The three of us, now," **he said coldly. He walked into a nearby room-which happened to be the karaoke room-, and Yunho and Lilly immediately followed afterwards.  
Yunho hadn't seen Jaejoong that angry in a while. When he was angry, Jaejoong's knuckles always turned white and right then they were almost beyond white. Also, Yunho hated to look at Jaejoong's face when he was angry. When emotions played so fiercely upon Jaejoong's face, he was always so good looking that you couldn't even speak to him. Right now, Yunho couldn't even bear to look at him…  
Lilly followed behind Yunho into the karaoke room and looked up at Jaejoong. She froze suddenly, afraid to move. His face looked so pain-stricken; yet, he looked so angelic at the same time. She couldn't breathe properly while looking at him.  
**"Close the door, Lilly,"** Yunho whispered. She did as he said, though it took her hands a bit of fumbling around to even found the door knob because she couldn't move her eyes away from Jaejoong. He was staring right at her, unmoving, and she was too...  
**"You both are adopting a child," **Jaejoong stated, voice sounding more smooth and liquid-like than it ever had before. **"Lilly, do you even know what process you have to go through in order to adopt a child?"  
"….n-no."  
"Jaejoong, don't…"  
"Well, you sort of have to be MARRIED to the other parent if two people decide to adopt a child; and, if not, the child can only be adopted under one name, leaving no responsibility towards the other."  
"I was going to tell you earlier, Lilly, but…" **Yunho's voice trailed off, leaving him and Jaejoong to both stare harshly at the same odd object on the floor.  
**"What **_**is **_**that?" **Jaejoong brushed his sneaker against the thing, and it moved. **"Aish…"  
"It looks like…a wig?"** Yunho asked, looking up at Lilly. His eyes widened suddenly after realizing that she had been staring at him the whole time.  
**"You weren't going to marry me, were you? You were just going to leave me to raise the kid?"  
"Yeah, he was going to just use you…"  
"I wasn't going to just use her! I **_**love**_** her! But, I just… The child…"  
"Y-You love me?"  
"Yeah, I do-"  
"That's not the point her," **Jaejoong interrupted, the hand clenched around the gift bag now shaking. **"He was going to use you so that he could have a child. He wants a kid more than an infertile ajumma…"  
"Yahh, don't be mean."  
"Don't be mean? Don't be **_**mean**_**?" **Lilly asked. **"You were going to use me like I was some segregate mother or something! Why do you have to be such a-!"  
"Uh, Lilly…"  
"Yes, Jaejoong?"  
"You weren't speaking in Korean."  
"Oh."  
"I got the message.." **Yunho muttered, looking away from her. **"Sure, having a kid with you would be great, but I knew I couldn't adopt her. Can you imagine the rumors that would spread about us if I had a kid pop up out of nowhere? Manager-hyung wouldn't hear of it… I tried to talk him in to it this morning. He said I was **_**crazy**_**. Doesn't he know that I knew that already? I shouldn't even have any feelings for you. You're just a back-p dancer, an **_**American**_** back-up dancer at that. I shouldn't even talk to you, let alone have feelings for you…" ** Yunho brought his gaze back to her face and smirked. **"Why do I feel like I can't spend a moment without even seeing you?"  
**Jaejoong suddenly felt like his head was heavy, like it was resting next to his feet or something. Yunho likes Lilly that much? Jaejoong's fingers traced the texture of the gift bag's handle. It felt weak and meager, much like his heart did right now. Why did he _himself_ feel the same way? They had all met Lilly like, what, a day or two ago? Jaejoong couldn't even keep track. All he knew was that he felt like he couldn't live without Lilly either. If she were to leave right now, he wouldn't be able to continue singing. He wouldn't have anyone to sing for; to sing about….. She was so perfect, and yet so imperfect. She was so _beautiful_; she was the right height, the right shape; her eyes could send your heart flying just by looking at you; but, she had her bad side too. Besides also having feelings for Yunho, Lilly had already experienced a tough life, and she probably wasn't really ready for a committed relationship. That wasn't a bad thing to Jaejoong by any means-he would love just to hang out and be with her-, but the fact that Yunho _was _ready for another steady relationship, and Lilly might be willing to give him one, was a bad thing…. Would she be willing to do the same for Jaejoong? His heart sunk. No, she probably wouldn't. She hadn't spent enough time with him to feel that way about him… Had he only been thinking for a few seconds? Why was Lilly looking at him?  
**"Is that true, Jaejoong?"  
"Is-is what true?"  
"That you feel the same way?"  
"Who said that?"  
**Jaejoong's face turned ten shades of red, which made Lilly's heart practically break. Why did they _both_ have to like her? **"You just said that you felt the same way?" **she asked, a small grin playing on her rosy lips.  
**"I did? What else did I say?"** he asked, cheeks passing red and heading for purple.  
**"That's all. So, you both love me?"  
"…Yes,"** Yunho and Jaejoong said, glancing at each other at the same time.  
**"Even though it's only been about a day or so?" ** They both nodded, and Lilly sighed. **"Well, I'm not about to choose either one of you over the other, but…"** She paused and looked down at the thing in the floor again. **"Know that…I think I sort of love you both too." **She looked back up with a smile so reassuring that both of the boys smiled too. **"I don't know why, whether it's fate or our messed up hormones, but I think it was supposed to happen this way. I was supposed to have a screwed up life, bad relationships, a child even though I'm still 'pure'; and then****,**** shortly afterwards, have to choose between two guys, two different paths…."  
"Don't read so much in to it. It'll all work out over time," **Jaejoong added and leaned over to kiss her cheek softly. **"So don't cry, okay?"  
"I'm…crying?"** She reached up to wipe the tear she now felt running down her cheek away, but Jaejoong got to it first with his own velvety appendage.  
**"Beautifully, yes," **he whispered. He reached for her hand and placed the bag he had been holding in it and then stepped away.  
**"We'll have to figure out what to do about Eunae. I feel bad now. I really wanted her…" ** Yunho muttered as he stepped out of the room.  
**"And you'll have to open that before I open it for you," **Jaejoong added, now smiling at her mysteriously.  
**"It's not that wig's missing half, is it?" **she asked still a bit shaken up.  
**"Haha, no. But I have a feeling you'll really like your….gifts."  
"Gifts?"  
"Open it, silly."  
**Lilly used her fingernail to break the line up tape closing up the top of the gift bag and reached down into it. Her hand met some tissue paper, along with some confetti pieces, until she finally reached...something fabric-like? **"What is this?"  
"Pull it out,"** he teased, smiling wider now.  
She pulled out the thing, which happened to be a bright pink thong with hot pink lace, and a note was attached. **" **_**'Go to Seoul's Olympic Park. Once there, head to the 88 Garden. There, you will find your next present. 3, JJ' **_**Well, isn't this creative?"**

"**Hey, it took ALL MORNING to do this thing for you!"  
"And, when do you expect me to wear this?" ** Lilly asked, twirling the thong around on her finger. Jaejoong blushed a little and glanced away.  
**"Well…"  
"Yahh, you pervert!" **Lilly shouted and smacked him in the head with the thong.  
**"Owww. How'd you know I even meant anything perverted? You're the pervert!"  
"Am not!"  
"Just go. You have to get there before all the performances start anyways.."  
"Wait, I have to go by myself?"  
"Well, yeah. Oh, you could take Eunae with you. I doubt she's ever been there."  
"Okay, thanks." ** Lilly turned around and opened the door, but Jaejoong grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back before she could leave. He used his free hand to hold the back of her head as he brought her to him and kissed her like he never kissed anyone else. He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. **"Don't choose Yunho, okay? At least, not just yet. I don't think I could handle it."**  
As he started to let her go, Lilly did the same thing Jaejoong did and kissed him back, also breaking the kiss a bit afterwards. **"If you promise to keep kissing me like that, you won't have to worry about anything." **He kissed her again, this one being a bit more lust-filled than the first.  
**"I just feel like I **_**will**_** lose you to him. When you do decide, please promise to let it be a little bit more into our futures?"  
"Well, I promise to make the right decision when the timing is right. Whether it be tomorrow or the tomorrow of a decade from now, I promise I'll make the decision based on my heart whenever the timing is right."  
"Thank you,"** he whispered. He placed a small kiss on her forehead and closed his eyes. **"It just feels so right kissing you. I'm just not ready to lose that feeling yet."  
**Lilly smiled and closed her eyes too. It did feel just right when they kissed. She didn't get that feeling with Yunho… She placed another small kiss onto his lips. **"I'll go on my scavenger hunt now, I guess."  
"Be careful!" **he called as she left the room.

Lilly strolled lightly down the sidewalk with Eunae riding on her shoulders. It was a good thing the Olympic Park wasn't that far away from the dance studio.  
**"What's that?"** Eunae asked, pointing to the thong hanging out of Lilly's purse.  
**"That's nothing, nothing at all,"** Lilly answered as she wiggled the thong deeper into her purse.  
**"Is too. My sister has a bunch of those. I like wearing them as hats."  
"Oh, really? Would you like to now?"  
"Ohhhh, yes!"  
**

After placing the thong on Eunae's head, Lilly arrived at Olympic Park. She had to argue with the guard -as usual- because he didn't actually believe she was sent there by Jaejoong. Apparently, he had rented the entire place for the main beginning of the morning so she could find her presents without interruption, but Jaejoong had also forgotten to give her the pass card she was supposed to use and had one of their own body guards run it down to the Olympic Park guard. After gaining access to the Park, Lilly found her next gift bag in the dead middle of 88 Garden with a bright yellow balloon tied to the handles. **"**_**'After opening this present, you might want to kill me. Get your aggression out by playing some tennis.'**_** Is there a tennis court here? Holy crocodiles…" ** Lilly pulled another bright pink thong, but this time it had very soft, frilly lacing around the edges and was a lot thinner than the other one. Also, there was a pair a bright pink 'hooker' boots in the bag, along with a sky blue pair of fuzzy handcuffs. **"What kind of Christmas does he have planned for me?"  
**After finding the Olympus Tennis Center and gaining another pink thong along with a matching pink lacy bra, Lilly was starting to worry about Jaejoong.  
**"Yeoboseyo?"  
"Yeoboseyo my BUTT! What kind of presents are these?" **yelled Lilly into her phone. Eunae laughed as she tried to place all three thongs onto her head.  
**"It's…you'll see."  
"No, I will NOT see. Tell me now!"  
"Lilly, I have to go practice! Keep on following the clues!"  
"Jaejoong-ah, if you-!" ** The phone line died before Lilly could continue her threat. What was all of this supposed to lead her to? Was he going to lead her into a room filled with rose petals and champagne glasses? Lilly's head swam with such a though, and she didn't know if it swam in a good or bad way. She didn't know what to think of anything at the moment. Did she like Jaejoong or Yunho better; did she actually love either of them; were Yoochun and Junsu secretly gay; would Cam even care whether or not Yoochun was secretly gay? So many questions plagued Lilly's head…  
**"Ah, look! Look!" **Eunae pointed up at the sky. Lilly looked and her eyes softened at what she saw. **"Look, look. Balloons!"  
"Yeah, they're…gorgeous." **Lilly smiled happily and sat down on the tennis court she was just standing on. Eunae followed suit, and they both just sat there for awhile watching the balloons, breathing, smiling, thinking…  
After finding three more thongs, a pair of bright yellow rain boots and a bright green-and-white-polka-dotted bikini, Lilly received one last note: _**'By now you should have enough thongs and other things to keep you well supplied. Go drop them off at your apartment…'  
**_**"How did he get into my apartment?" **she wondered aloud, twisting the unlocked knob of her apartment room's door. She had dropped Eunae off at the dance studio in fear of what was awaiting her at her apartment. Hopefully, Junsu and Yoochun would take good care of her. For some reason, Yunho was around to take care of his own 'child'…  
**"Hello? Is anyone here?"** she asked, peering around the door. She stepped inside and shut the door behind her. As she started to venture towards her room, a pair of hands covered her eyes and mouth. She started to struggle, but she could feel the velvetiness of the hands holding her captive and went still.  
**"Shhhh,"** he whispered. He spun her around and kissed her softly on the lips. **"What, do you think I'm some kind of rapist or something?"  
"Not some kind, but THE kind of rapist I would expect to have in my apartment. With all the clues you've been leaving me, I was preparing myself for anything."  
"Well, I didn't mean it in THAT way, exactly.."  
"Then what did you have in mind with all the thongs and the handcuffs and stuff?"  
"Well, the handcuffs came free if I spent a certain amount at the store I bought them at."  
"Ohhh."  
"And, I know you like shoes, so that's why I got you the high-heeled boots and the rain boots because you didn't have a lot of boots in your closet."  
"Ohhh."  
"And girls need to have all the bras that they can get their hands on, and that one matches all the thongs." ** His face started to turn a little pink, but a soft sound from Lilly's bathroom ended the conversation.  
**"Was that-"  
"No, it wasn't. It wasn't anything."  
"I swear I heard…" **  
**"No, wait! Let me say something first."** Lilly stopped trying to get to her room and looked directly into Jaejoong's eyes. His eyes softened a bit. The fact that Lilly's eyes stopped his eyes by just merely looking into his own eyes didn't really help him in such a situation. **"Yunho gave you a little girl, so I wanted to give you something too."****  
****"Okay?"  
"Now you can go on."  
"Okay?"** Lilly looked quizzically at Jaejoong until he decided to move her himself. He laced his fingers in her and gently pulled her into her room. **"What're you…awwwwww."  
**There, sitting in the middle of her bed, was a cute, black-and-white baby kitten. It was just staring at her like it knew why it was there. Why was it there?  
**"H-He's for me?"  
"How did you know that he's a he?"  
"He just…looks like one? Can I name him?"  
"Mhmm."** Jaejoong released her hand so she could run over to the kitten. She ran over and picked him up and brought him back over to Jaejoong.  
**"Jaejoong-ah, meet JJ,"** she said, smiling brightly. He smiled too. Yeah, he was definitely in love with her now. Jaejoong couldn't call the feelings he had for Lilly anything else except love.  
**"JJ? Now, where have I heard that before.."  
"Oh, quit it and hold your son!" **she yelled teasingly and handed the kitten over to him. JJ purred softly and nestled into Jaejoong's arms.  
**"Ahh, I think he likes me!" **Jaejoong cooed softly and scratched JJ's head. Lilly cooed silently to herself, but more over Jaejoong than the kitten. She didn't know he was so caring. It made her wonder how he would be with a chi-….

"**What do you think?"  
"Um…about?"  
"Santa Claus, Lilly, Santa Claus. TODAY, how do you feel about TODAY? Like, did you like all of our gifts and stuff?"  
"Oh, yes, of course I did! And, I may or may not be wearing one of the thongs tomorrow."  
"Good….to know." ** Jaejoong blushed and diverted his attention towards the cat.  
**"Well, they're all really, really cute. How could I not wear them?"  
"I dunno. It's not like I was going to check every day or something."  
"Anything's possible with you, Jaejoong-ah. Anything's possible with you."  
"**_**Anything**_**?" **asked Jaejoong. He released the kitten and used his hands to once again pull Lilly closer for another kiss. This time, however, his lips met something less kissable.  
**"You shouldn't just throw your son around,"** Lilly complained, having placed JJ's head between herself and Jaejoong. **"You're getting as bad as Yunho."  
"As bad as me?" **a voice called, sending Lilly's, Jaejoong's and JJ's heads to spin towards the kitchen.  
**"Yes, since I just threw our new son to the floor."  
"Your new son…?"** Yunho came around the corner to Lilly's bedroom where he came face-to-face with the little green-eyed kitten. **"She's…cute."  
"HE'S cute," **Jaejoong and Lilly said in unison.  
**"MEOW!" **JJ said to emphasize.  
**"Well, sorry to interrupt your…new addition to the family, but Eunae's sister came by to get her at the dance studio when I was gone to meet up with my little sister for a Christmas lunch."  
"What?"  
"Yeah, but Yoochun and Junsu wouldn't let her go. When she called the police, Yoochun and Junsu tried to reason with the police, but the policeman just took them all in to the station, so I just decided to come and get you."  
"O-Okay. Should we go in?"  
"Yeah, I think they'll need someone to vouch for them and Eunae."  
"Okay. Oh, Jaejoong-ssi…"  
"Ah, it's okay. I'll sit here and take care of JJ. No worries," **he added with a smile. He took a hold of JJ and sat down with him onto the bed. **"We'll be good, promise."  
"Okay then."** Lilly and Yunho headed for the front door. **"Be careful with him!"  
"Will do.."** Jaejoong muttered as the door slammed shut. **"It's not like I waited for you all day here with him or anything…"**


	7. Chapter 7: Decision Time

"**So, she's just going to be sent home with this dope head?" **asked Changmin to the police officer. He was outraged by the failure of this police department. Junsu had called him while they were being escorted to the station, and Changmin arrived there a few minutes after the call. **"You can't be serious? You can just look at her and see that she's on drugs! She probably doesn't even know Eunae's name."**

"**Sir, we can't help it at the moment. We'll have to perform an investigation on…what's your name again?" **The officer turned and looked at the woman that was gripping tightly onto Eunae's little hand. She had almost a pale yellow complexion, and had huge bags under her otherwise flawless almond-shaped eyes.

"**Yun Bi. And you have no right to take away my sister!" ** Eunae's eyes looked up from the sudden shouting. She saw her sister yelling and her little mocha eyes started watering up. She wasn't crying because her sister was yelling, but because she knew that she would have to go back home with her. Even at her age, Eunae was starting to tell right from wrong, and she knew that what her sister did to herself was wrong and that her sister would be angry when they got home. If a kid could tell that, why couldn't the police?

The station door opened and the little bell on top of the door started ringing, signaling that someone had entered. Changmin turned around to see Yunho and Lilly entering the building and bit his lip in frustration. If he couldn't talk the officer out of letting the girl go back with her sister, than he doubted that Yunho could. Then again, he didn't really know Lilly. Yoochun and Junsu also looked up from the bench they were now handcuffed to. They had put up a 'fight' with the policeman that took them to the station by insulting him quite well, and were later secured to the bench to prevent them from causing any more trouble until the ordeal was settled.

Yun Bi now too looked towards the door, and as soon as she saw Lilly she became enraged. **"You! You're the reason for all of this!" **Lilly rose an eyebrow. Eunae's sister almost looked exactly how she imagined her to be, but maybe a little skinnier. She looked like she hadn't eaten in a while, and Lilly didn't even want to imagine when the last time Eunae had eaten before arriving at her doorstep.

"**And you're the reason Eunae came to my door, asking for money?"** Thoughts ran through her head of the poor little girl's sufferings. She could imagine her going door-to-door that whole day, and the day beforehand, asking for any food or money that the stranger might give. Then she imagined Eunae returning home with it all, only to have it taken away from her by her older sister, not leaving any bit of it for Eunae. **"You…filthy piece of sh-"**

"**That will be enough," **the policeman ordered. **"You must be Lilly. I'm Officer Li. I've been told that you took in little Eunae for the night because she was wandering around unattended, and I applaud your nobility. But, the little girl is still under the custody of her older sister, Yun Bi, until an investigation is put under affect."**

"**But…" ** What really could Lilly say? The one part of Korean culture that she hadn't studied on very well was their judicial system. What a mistake that was now. Lilly glanced up at Yun Bi, who was smirking, but Lilly's eyes caught something a little more interesting. **"What if there was suspected illegal activity on Yun Bi's part? Couldn't children's services take Eunae until the investigation is conducted?"**

"**Well, yes," **Officer Li replied. **"But what illegal activity do you suspect Yun Bi of?"**

"Look at her arms." Officer Li did, and he's eyes widened. All up and down her arms, Yun Bi had several scars and a few large circular scabs. **"I call that very suspicious activity."**

Officer Li shrugged. **"Works for me." ** He nodded his head to a woman and a man standing nearby, and the two walked over to Eunae. The woman scooped her up in her arms as the man handed Officer Li a stack of papers. **"Eunae will be placed under protective custody until further notice. Yun Bi will have no contact with her sister whatsoever until a hearing can be held. Yun Bi, you have scars on your arms like those you would normally get from consistent drug use. You will be placed under temporary arrest until an investigation is completed." **He went behind her and handcuffed her, but she looked like she barely understood what was going on.

As the woman started to take Eunae away, the little girl raised up her arm to wave goodbye to the guys and Lilly, but for the first time Lilly noticed something on Eunae too. **"Wait!"** she cried out. The woman did and Lilly ran over to Eunae. She picked up one of her little arms to examine them and noticed bruising all over the underside of her arms. How could Lilly not notice it before? **"Look…at her arms."**

"**How come I'm always left alone, JJ?" **Jaejoong complained. The kitten stared attentively into Jaejoong's eyes as he sat on top of his stomach. The man's stomach felt a little too hard to JJ. He preferred squishier bellies, but at the moment he had no better option. Jaejoong was laid back on the sofa, the same place where he and Lilly had had their first kiss, and thought back about it. He touched his lips as a tingle ran through them, causing him to smile. **"It's not that I mind being alone, but I've been waiting for her here all day, and now she's left us again****.****"** Little JJ rubbed his furry face against Jaejoong's smooth one in sympathy, and curled up on his chest. This area too was a bit hard, but JJ was getting use to his owner's firm build. The ladies like a toned man, after all. JJ was going to have to remember to go on a run in the morning so that he could impress the ladies too…

A knock came at the door and caused Jaejoong to sit up, which also caused JJ to fall to the floor. JJ scampered over to the door before Jaejoong could think to stand up, and the door opened before Jaejoong could even grab the handle. In walked Lilly all dolled up like she was the day before, as breath-taking as she was before, and suddenly Jaejoong felt like he couldn't move. What was it about Lilly that made him completely helpless? He had just seen her earlier, but she still made him feel weak. For some reason, as Lilly looked at Jaejoong's face she smiled crookedly, which made Jaejoong confused, but at the same time his heart doubled in pace.

"**What?" **she asked, her crooked smile widening. She changed her smile to a closed lip one, and cupped part of Jaejoong's face in one of her hands. **"You've been waiting a lot for me today, haven't you?"** A sudden blush covered Jaejoong's doll-like skin, which made Lilly smile even wider. **"Thank you, love."**

Jaejoong's eyes darted away from her trance-like eyes.** "It was…no problem." **He brought up one of his hands to grab a hold of the hand on his face and intertwined his fingers with hers. **"JJ's been waiting too."**

"Oh, poor JJ," she cooed. The sound of Lilly's voice made Jaejoong relax almost completely. He hadn't actually felt that relaxed and stress-free in a while. He watched as Lilly bent over and picked up JJ with the arm she had free, all the time admiring her entire figure. He longed for her body; to touch it, to feel the warmth of her skin. He took a deep breath and the urge passed, but he couldn't help but let it slip back and forth from his thoughts as Lilly pulled him over to _their_ couch. Lilly placed JJ into her lap and leaned her head against Jaejoong's chest. Like JJ, she too could feel the firmness of his chest, but rather liked it.

Jaejoong leaned his head over to smell the scent of Lilly's shampoo. It really suited her; it was sweet, but flowery. He sighed and wrapped a piece of Lilly's hair around the index finger of his free hand. It was silky and soft and shiny. He couldn't help but absorb everything about her that he could, even if a little bit of doubt singed in the back of his mind. He _knew_ that she liked Yunho also, but he didn't know who she would end up choosing. Of course, he hoped it was him, but he couldn't be sure. Thinking about Yunho suddenly brought another thought to mind. **"So…what happened?"**

"**Oh, you made me forget****,****"** Lilly smiled and tilted her head so that she could see the perfection she was leaning on. He smiled at her and sent a chill through her body. Every time he smiled, it always touched his eyes. Lilly loved that.

"**Can you still not remember?" ** Jaejoong smiled and released her hand so that he could pull her into his lap and wrap his arms around her waist. Lilly leaned her head back on to his chest and sighed happily.

**"Well, they took Eunae into protective custody." **For some reason, Lilly's eyes started to swell with tears, but she tried not to let any of them free. **"She had bruises and welts all the way up and down her little arms and legs, but you couldn't really see them unless you actually looked for them because they were fading." **A tear managed to slip and dampen Jaejoong's shirt. He glanced down to see her crying and his eyes softened a little.

"**Mm, baby, it's okay,"** Jaejoong said sweetly. He held her closer with one arm and used the other to stroke her hair. **"They're taking care of her, right? She'll be okay now."**

"But, just knowing th-that that woman had been abusing her… It makes me almost feel dead inside." Lilly pushed herself into his chest, forcing the cat off of her lap as she cuddled into his embrace.

"**Babe,"** he sighed and held her tighter. **"You saved her from that. She's going to be happier now, and you should be too." ** Lilly relaxed a little and looked up at Jaejoong, a tear or two tracing lines down her cheeks. Jaejoong brushed them away and kissed her forehead. **"Don't be so hard on yourself, okay? Just remember that 'I lovvvve you.'" ** Jaejoong smiled, hoping that his English would have some affect on her damper mood. And, luckily for him, it did.

**"You know,"** Lilly started, smiling sweetly. **"Every time we're on this couch, I cry and then you make me feel better. But, I feel like I'm forgetting something else."**

"**You're so cheesy," **he teased. He had been thinking about it too, but he just didn't say it. He loved her cheesiness though. He held the back of her head with his palm and kissed her. It was a soft and gentle kiss, different from the way he had kissed her before. She parted her lips from his for a brief second to switch from kissing his bottom lip to his top lip, and this made Jaejoong smile. He pulled away from her gently and brought his hand to cup her chin. **"Now, what if I **_**like **_**kissing your top lip?"**

"**The bottom one is just as good. Yours are just a lot fuller."** She brushed a finger against his lips, this time causing him to get a chill. **"So, I can switch as I please." **She smirked and pecked his cheek. **"And I can do that too if I want to."**

"**You can do whatever you want to me if you want to," **he added. She blushed and smacked his arm. Her smack didn't do much though because he was buff there too. **"Again, you can do whatever you want to me."**

"**You perv. It's time for you to go."  
"How am **_**I **_**the pervert? Why am I alwaysss the pervert?"  
"Well, you're not always the pervert. Sometimes Yun****-****…" **Lilly paused, making everything awkward. Of all the things she could have said, why did she have to bring Yunho up? Jaejoong couldn't really respond. He could only stare lifelessly at her. She had made him forget about Yunho, that _he_ loved her, that _she_ also loved _him_, and that Jaejoong was merely a leg in their messed up three-legged love triangle.

Jaejoong stood up, leaving Lilly to slump over on to the couch. **"I'm going…" **he muttered. He walked towards the door, but a slender hand snaked around his waist. He hated when people touched his waist, but for some reason, even though he was mad at her, having Lilly hug his waist was the best feeling in the world. So, he stopped walking.

"**Please…don't go."** Lilly's voice was soft, and Jaejoong almost couldn't hear her. **"...I'm not prepared to lose two people in one day, nevertheless two loves in one life."**

"Well, you're going to have to eventually. It's either me or him," Jaejoong replied back just as soft. He turned around in her embrace to face her. She looked up at him, and he kissed her. This time the kiss was a bit more passionate; it displayed exactly how he felt, and Lilly could tell that. He broke the kiss as abruptly as he had started it, and Lilly let her arms drape away from his waist. **"I love you, Lilly, with all of my heart. Even if I've only known you for a little while, I **_**love**_** you. I don't know what else to say to make you decide. I don't want to make you decide either, but I can't stand waiting and knowing that you love another man too. Please, just decide." ** He placed another kiss on her forehead and left.

Lilly stood in the place that Jaejoong had left her for a while, just staring at the door that he had left through. He was...right. She shouldn't make them both just wait around for her. She _had_ to decide. Yunho was wonderful, but apparently didn't mind using her to get what he wanted. Jaejoong was an angel, literally; but, Lilly wasn't for sure if she even knew him well enough. She would give them both this though: at least they've been waiting longer than Chance did. JJ started to rub against her ankles, and she snapped back into reality. She picked him up and held him so that he could look at her. **"Jae-Babe, what should I do? Jaejoong or Yunho?"** The cat continued to stare at her. **"And I didn't mean you." **JJ meowed in response and received a little scratch behind his ears. **"You're not helping much. I will decide by tomorrow though, I promise them that."**


End file.
